Speaking Through Dreams
by ryuulover
Summary: There’s a fine line between reality and illusion, truth and lies. A line that everyone sees and no one crosses. But sometimes tragedy hides it reality and illusions blur. When Inuyasha gives up his life to save Kagome’s by making her a hanyou, she goes
1. A Tragic Loss

**Speaking Through Dreams**

A/N There's also a dash of romance; not much though.

**IMPORTANT A/N:** Many of you will probably notice that a lot of things about my fic are ooc (out of character). I would like to say right now, that everything and I mean _EVERYTHING_ that seems ooc or out of place is like that on purpose and for a reason. You will find out the reason in a later chapter, so don't let it stop you from liking this fic

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Inu-hanyou: half demon dog

Youkai: Demon

Baka: idiot/stupid

Hiraikotsu: flying bone

Miko: Shinto(religion in Japan) priestess

Kitsune: fox/fox demon

Hakama: the pants that Inuyasha wears

Kariyinu: The "shirt" that Inuyasha wears

**Prologue: A Tragic Loss**

A large tentacle shot towards the girl. Clad in a green skirt and white sailor-shirt with a matching green scarf, the girl screamed as it approached her, her raven black hair sticking up on end. But at the last second the tentacle was cut in half by a large sword wielded by an inu-hanyou wearing a red fire-rat kariyinu and matching hakama.

"Kagome, get away from here! It's too dangerous!" yelled the inu-hanyou.

"No Inuyasha, I won't leave you. My arrows are our only weapon that injure him without him being able to regenerate, and besi­­­—LOOK OUT!"

Where the tentacle had been cut off, the youkai hiding under a white baboon skin was emitting a thick black cloud that was killing the grass, plants, insects, animals, and everything else it touched. This miasma seeped over the entire battlefield before it was stopped by Kagome's sacred arrow.

Shippo let out a sigh of relief when he saw Kagome purify the miasma. For a moment there he was afraid that he would loose his second family. It had been hard enough when the thunder brothers had killed his father, and he hadn't really had a loving relationship with him. Sure, he was Shippo's father and he loved him like any father would, but as a youkai who was still mourning the loss of his mate, there was never that sense of affection that he got out of Miroku, Sango, and Kagome…especially Kagome. Inuyasha too…a little. Over the three years that they had been traveling together, those four people had grown very close to Shippo's heart, and the thought of loosing one of them was more than Shippo's little kitsune heart could bear. It would be death (or seem like it anyway) for him to have to say goodbye to one of his friends, especially if it was Kagome. So needless to say, when Naraku's severed limb started spraying his deadly miasma over Inuyasha and Kagome, Shippo was passed worried and into a full-fledged panic. It had taken both Sango and Miroku to keep Shippo from jumping down to Kagome and hold him on Kirara. But at least that danger was over, for now.

"Inuyasha, be careful. We learned about miasma in school recently; it is an extremely dangerous and potent neuro-poison. That means that it will viciously attack your mind while it eats away at your body. Miasma is extremely deadly and still kills people in my time, and our doctors with all their modern medicine have only ever successfully cured a handful of people" warned Kagome as Inuyasha rushed towards Naraku with Tessaiga raised above his head in a somewhat offensive, but mostly reckless style.

"I know it's dangerous baka! What, do you think this is the first time I've battled with Naraku?" Inuyasha yelled over his shoulder. He didn't know why she was always telling him to be careful. Sure, sometimes he would rush into battle without thinking things through very well, but he was still alive wasn't he? '_Feh, stupid woman_' was what Inuyasha thought as he brought down Tessaiga through the middle of Naraku's head. Of course Naraku had somehow managed to get out of the baboon skin at the last second so that _it _was destroyed instead of him. Naraku appeared behind Inuyasha and attacked while Inuyasha was still searching for where Naraku had gone.

"Hiraikotsu!"

Sango's giant boomerang cut off Naraku's arm just as it was about to spear Inuyasha in the back, but this let out another wave of miasma before Naraku regenerated his missing limbs. Once again Kagome shot a sacred arrow into the thick cloud that threatened every living thing it touched, and once again the miasma disappeared before it could harm Inuyasha or any other of her friends.

"Damm it, this isn't working. Every time we hit Naraku, he lets out his miasma and regenerates himself!" yelled Inuyasha out of frustration.

"Calm yourself, Inuyasha. If we are to defeat Naraku, we must not let him fluster us." stated Miroku, who had recently jumped off Kirara with Sango to help their friends.

"Ah, but Inuyasha is correct, there is no way to defeat me. Your little group has been chasing me for three years now and I have been exposed to all you your pitiful attacks numerous times. And yet, I have not been scathed, which is more than I can say about _you._" Naraku's icy voice pierced the group's heart and caused each of them, including Inuyasha, to feel shivers run up their spines. Naraku let his words sink in before continuing to eat away at his foes confidence and heart.

"Sango, wasn't your entire family and village killed by me, and yet when I was right in front of you that evening, you didn't even attempt to revenge your fallen comrades. Oh wait, I remember now. It must be because it was your own _brother _that betrayed your family and _murdered_ them, not me. Silly me, must have slipped my mind." At the mention of her family's death, Sango's eyes welled up as she tried not to give Naraku the pleasure of knowing that his words and reminder of that fateful night had gotten to her. But he had, and a cold smile crept over his face as he saw her anguish.

"And Miroku," Naraku moved on, "you claim that you are after me so that you don't end up in the bottom of your own crater like your father, but it was he and your grand father who _knowingly and willingly_ passed on the curse to you. Why would you be mad at me for your father creating a cursed child? He knew how difficult your life would be, yet that didn't stop him from partaking in the same lecherous acts that you are currently trying to partake in." These words festered in Miroku's mind while he grew steadily angrier at Naraku for insulting his father and his own conception.

"And Inuyasha…"

"That's enough Naraku! I won't stand by and watch you try to hurt my friends with your malicious words!"

Kagome practically screamed this as she fitted an arrow, which was glowing bright blue from all the miko energy that she was pouring into it, into her bow and shot it at Naraku. This sudden outburst caught Naraku off guard, so he didn't have time to dodge, and his smile quickly turned into a frown when the arrow pierced his chest, forming a yawning hole. His frown grew bigger when he realized that not only was his chest not regenerating, but that the hole was actually growing bigger. The wound, he realized, was covered in miko purifying energy from the arrow and was slowly eating away at his very being.

Ignoring the increasing pain that he felt, Naraku formed a tentacle out of his arm and shot it towards Kagome. Paralyzed by fear, Kagome could only watch as the scene unfolded before her. As the tentacle/arm speed towards her, Inuyasha jumped in front of it in an attempt to stop it and save Kagome. He was almost successful too, but at the last second the tentacle split in two. One pierced Inuyasha through the chest, went straight through it and looped around his neck to choke him while the other one dodged Inuyasha and went straight into Kagome's neck. With a smirk, Naraku pumped miasma through his arm and out the tentacle ends. Miroku and Sango (and Shippo from Kirara's back) watched in horror as Inuyasha got a face full of miasma while Kagome, with a tentacle sticking into her neck like a syringe, was no doubt being injected by the noxious vapor. They tried to move to help their dying friends, but found that they were paralyzed with fear over the gruesome scene. Shippo had covered his eyes when the tentacle rushed at Kagome and now took a peak to see if she was all right. From where he was he could see Miroku and Sango standing stone-still with expressions of horror on their faces. In front of them was Naraku with a spreading hole in his chest and his right arm extended as a tentacle that split in two. The right split was sticking through Inuyasha's chest and around his neck, simultaneously choking him and covering him in an ever growing cloud of miasma. The left half of the tentacle had Kagome on the end of it, with obvious pain showing on her face. When Kagome's eyes started to go blank and close, Shippo fainted.

Kagome felt jolts of electricity shooting through her nerves and at the same time she could feel her insides start to dissolve. The miasma in her body was already attacking her nervous system and organs, and if she didn't act soon she would be totally eaten away, just like the grass in the field that they had been fighting in. Slowly and painfully, Kagome closed her eyes and focused her miko powers. She tapped into the well of power that she stored in her body and, drawing from it, expelled the tentacle and miasma from her body. But the damage had already been done to her body and she could feel her strength weakening. She opened her eyes to see that Sango and Miroku had chased Naraku away and were tending to Inuyasha. Shippo was still on Kirara and was asleep. _He has had a stressful day_ thought Kagome as Inuyasha, with the help of Sango and Miroku, was hobbling over to her. He had cuts all over his body and was covered with blood.

"Kagome," Inuyasha's weak, raspy voice called to her "you're dying."

"I already drove the miasma out, so you don't need to worry about me" came Kagome's equally weak voice.

"Don't be stupid, baka, you have the stench of death all over you. The only way you would be able to survive the wounds you have, was if you were _at least_ a hanyou"

Kagome could see he was fighting back tears as Miroku and Sango put him down. He coughed hard, and it sounded like he was choking as blood came gargling from his froth-corrupted lungs. After he was done coughing and had caught his breath, Inuyasha continued.

"I have decided to give you my hanyou blood, so that you can live. Don't try and argue with me Kagome. I inhaled the miasma, and like you said, there is no way I can survive it"

"Inuyasha, I can heal you like I did to myself. Don't give up just because…" tears were running down her cheeks now as she struggled to get up so she could heal him, but was stopped by him. He felt cold and his hands were shaking as he held her down.

"Kagome don't be baka, you've already used up all your miko powers to get the miasma out of your own body. There is now way you would be able to heal me as well."

Inuyasha's words stung Kagome's heart, not because they were harsh, they actually were unusually gentle. Those words hurt because she knew that they were true.

"Kagome, please let me do this one last thing for you before I die. I would rather die knowing that a part of me is helping you live, than have you die with me. Miroku, please, lie me next to Kagome."

Miroku, who had been standing there watching Kagome and Inuyasha with the sadness in his heart reflected in the pool of tears in his eyes, jumped slightly at the sound of his name but nodded and complied with his dying friend's wishes.

Miroku put Inuyasha next to Kagome and couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He turned to Sango who was also crying, and they held each other in a tight hug to comfort one another while one of their best friends saved the other.

Inuyasha took his already bloody claws and made a cut in his hand. Then he did the same to Kagome and pushed their bleeding hands together so that his blood could enter her.

"Kagome, I-I just w-want you to kn-ow, that I l-l-love, you."

"I love you too…Inuyasha"

Kagome said that in barely more than a whisper as Inuyasha's tears started to roll down his cheeks. After a few moments Inuyasha started to shake violently due to lack of blood. Kagome leaned over to him and kissed him, and could taste the blood on his lips.

As he lay next to Kagome, Inuyasha's silver hair slowly started to turn black and his ears moved down the side of his head and turned into human ears. His claws and fangs disappeared as his youkai blood left his body, leaving him a human. Kagome could feel some of her strength return thanks to the youkai blood, but she was still unable to get up, so she rolled over to give Inuyasha one last hug as he took his last raspy, gasping breath.

After a few minutes Kagome regained the strength to walk, and slowly started to dig a grave for the deceased inu-hanyou. While she dug in the now barren earth, Kagome's fingernails turned to claws and her ears migrated to the top of her head and turned into two dog ears that looked just like Inuyasha's, only they were the color of her raven black hair. She didn't notice this however, nor did she hear Miroku's and Sango's gasps when this transformation took place. The only thing that Kagome noticed while she dug in the ground was that Inuyasha was dead now, and he took a piece of her heart with him. That night, a rusty-looking old sword that would never transform again, stuck in the ground as a marker for the grave of its fallen master.


	2. Questionable Rejection

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Hentai: pervert/perverted

Youkai: Demon

Hanyou: half-demon

Kitsune: fox/fox demon

Arigato: Thank you

Jii-chan: grandpa

Nee-chan: older sister

Inu nee-chan: dog-eared older brother (or just dog brother)

Miko: Shinto (Religion in Japan) priestess

Kami: Japanese god, deity, or a spirit of nature

Ofuda: strips of paper inscribed with Buddhist scriptures, used by monks in exorcism or to ward away evil.

Onegai: Please, I beg you!

Obaa-chan- a familiar way of saying "grandmother" or "old woman"; something like "grandma"

**Name suffixes: This is something I'm only posting once so that nobody gets confused. Kind of a FYI thing.**

-chan: literally means "little" or "cute"; a diminutive name suffix used to address children, female relatives and (close) friends. Also a common endearment. Adding this to a relative's appellation (such as obaachan, "grandma") gives the appellation a familiar tone.

-kun: a name suffix used to address people of equal/lower social standing and/or age; more casual than -san, this is applied almost excessively to males. Can also be diminutive, like a male version of -chan.

-san: a name suffix indicating respect; translates to Mr., Miss or Mrs. Using a plain name is a quite casual way of addressing a person, and unless you know them well it is considered somewhat rude.

-dono: an archaic, outdated name suffix indicating respect; slightly more polite than -san; used to address people of higher rank

-sama: a very respectful, even reverent name suffix; may be translated as sir, lady, lord etc.

**Chapter 1: Questionable Rejection**

The walk back to Kaede's village was a long and weary one. Everyone was exhausted from the battle with Naraku and still shaken up over Inuyasha's death. Miroku walked in front and was very solemn and quiet; he didn't once try to grope Sango or act like a hentai. Sango was walking next to Miroku. Neither of them were in the mood for talking, so Sango just tried to comfort Miroku with her presence and at the same time draw comfort from his. But neither of them had much comfort to give, so in the end there was just an uneasy silence between the two of them. Directly behind them, Shippo riding on Kirara's back and was resting. He had worn himself out with grief, anger and despair when he found out about Inuyasha.

Flashback

Shippo recovered from the shock of seeing Naraku killing Inuyasha and Kagome, and was overjoyed to see her alive.

"Kagome! I'm so glad you're alright. Where's Inuyasha?"

Shippo, in his excitement about Kagome's life, realized that he had overlooked few things. First of all, Kagome now was a hanyou, but that was ok. After all, now she would be able to relate to him better because she was part youkai, which meant that she would be able to love him even more than she already did. The next thing he noticed was that Kagome's hands were covered in dirt like she had just been digging, and also she wasn't smiling nor did she look happy to see him. In fact, when he mentioned Inuyasha, she looked like she would either cry or hit him for mentioning his name. Also she had the smell of death all over her, but it wasn't her death, it belonged to someone else.

Shippo put all this information together and came to a conclusion: Inuyasha was dead. But he couldn't be dead. He promised Shippo when they met that they would always be together and protect one another.

"Inuyasha you, you, you stupid jerk! How could you die on me when you promised that we would always be there for one another?" Shippo yelled out of frustration and sadness. "You stupid stupid jerk! I can't believe you would die on me! How could you abandon me like this? How…could…you…abandon…me…like…this?"

Shippo could no longer just yell to vent his sadness, so he started to cry and beat at the dead ground with his fists. Kagome had been standing there watching the poor kitsune pup express his anguish as he lost control over his emotions. And when Shippo started to cry, Kagome bent down and simply given him an understanding hug.

Shippo spent the next hour yelling, crying, and beating, until he simply collapsed under the weight of his emotions and fell asleep.

End of Flashback

As Shippo rested on Kirara's back, Kagome slowly walked at the end of the group. She hadn't said a word since Inuyasha died. Out of everyone in the small depressed group, Kagome was the worst off. Not only was she drowning in grief and guilt, but also her body was having a hard time adjusting to being a hanyou. In one foul swoop Kagome had changed half a species, and along with it came drastic anatomical changes. All at once Kagome was having to adjust to increased strength, having claws and fangs, a drastically and painfully heightened sense of smell and hearing, a new sense of balance because of the physical changes in her body, and worst of all, controlling her youkai blood. Kagome's mind was overwhelmed by the instincts that naturally came with her youkai blood, and a lot of them were scarring her. Like the incredible urge to use her new claws and slaughter Miroku and Sango and the need to taste blood. What scarred her the most though, was that she knew she couldn't totally ignore this new voice in her mind, because these new instincts were the only things that were helping her adjust to her new body.

The youkai blood, as scary as it was, was (amazingly) assisting her mind in sorting out all the new scents and sounds that were overwhelming her weak human mind. Where the problem came in was when her youkai blood disagreed with her human mind over what her body should do; like killing the two humans that it saw as a threat. It was mostly just emotions and feelings that they portrayed, but they were capable of suggesting more too, like ideas of killing. Especially since her blood wasn't sealed.

_How did Inuyasha deal with this?_ Kagome thought sadly to herself.

_These instincts are practically taking over my mind! Heh. No wonder he was always so rough. He was trying to control his instincts._

Kagome sighed mentally. She really didn't want to think about Inuyasha right now. The painful pressure she kept feeling in her chest and arms was making it hard enough for her to keep her balance, without the distraction of guilt and sorrow running rampant through her mind. But no matter how hard she tried she couldn't get him out of her thoughts.

_After all_ she thought to herself, _it _is _your fault he died Kagome. If you had just moved out of danger, like he told you to, then Naraku wouldn't have attacked you. And then Inuyasha wouldn't have had to, to…_ Kagome let a fresh set of tears run down her face as she remembered the selfless act that Inuyasha had committed for her sake.

Kagome could smell the salt from her tears as her youkai blood identified the smell and stored it into memory. She frowned at the smell because it was yet another reminder of Inuyasha.

_That was the first time Inuyasha ever cried openly. He must have really cared for you to be that open with his emotions._

Once again Kagome fell over because she lost her concentration, but nobody moved to help her. She had already expressed her desire not to be helped, and Miroku and Sango didn't want to argue with her. So they waited patiently for Kagome to get herself up and regain her balance before moving on. At least she was falling less frequently now.

scene change

By the time they reached Kaede's village it was already night outside, so most of the villagers were asleep. The group was glad, because this way they wouldn't have to deal with unnecessary explanations and the glares that would surely come with Kagome's transformation.

When Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and Kagome walked into Kaede's hut with downcast eyes, Kaede could immediately tell that something was amiss. The two things that stood out the most where that Inuyasha was missing and that Kagome was now a hanyou.

"Kagome, what happened to ye, and where is Inuyasha?" Kaede could see Kagome wince when she spoke. Miroku also noticed this and, wanting to spare Kagome the pain of talking about it, decided to answer the question for her.

"We ran into Naraku" Miroku started.

_Oh, no. This is not going to be good_ thought Kaede when she heard this.

When Miroku finished recapping everything that had happened in the last two days, Kaede moved her eyes from Miroku to Kagome, to see that she was crying.

"Kagome, child, I am indeed sorry to hear of your loss. If it is of any comfort to you, Inuyasha is still alive, in a sense. From what I hear, all of Inuyasha's youkai blood was transferred into your body, meaning that his demon conciseness that resided in that blood still exists inside of you. Inuyasha will always be with ye now, for better or worse."

Kagome let a small smile creep across her face for the first time in what seemed an eternity. It was almost like being married; for better or worse.

"Arigato, Kaede-obaa-chan. You don't know how much that means to me."

Kaede just smiled and nodded. The rest of the group smiled as well. It was nice to see Kagome smiling and talking again, even if it was only a little bit.

"Kagome, I think it would be best for you return to your time tomorrow. Being with your family might help comfort you and help to heal your heart." Kagome just nodded at the suggestion. Her family was very understanding. They would make her feel better, wouldn't they?

'_Doubt, fear, danger. Not if you're a hanyou_' her demon blood told her.

_Shut up! That's not like you family. They would never discriminate against someone for the way they are, especially if that someone was you._

'_Feh, you just keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better, but I'm telling you, humans aren't very understanding of hanyous. You'll see what I mean eventually_'

_Oh shut up. You don't know what you're talking about, I hope._ Kagome finally suppressed her instincts and hoped with all her being that they were wrong about her family. Frowning, Kagome unrolled her futon next to the others. They had already gotten ready for bed and started falling asleep while Kagome was having her little "discussion" with her self. Climbing inside of her sleeping bag, Kagome sighed. She still wasn't used to having instincts with a mind of their own.

scene change

Kagome woke up the next morning to the screeching sound of birds chirping. _Damn birds_ Kagome thought as she sat up in her sleeping bag and looked outside to see that it was barely dawn. This new hearing of hers was going to get real annoying, real fast. Flattening her ears against her head and burying them into her sleeping bag, Kagome tried to get at least a few more hours of sleep. She was still tired from the fight against Naraku, and the wound in her neck and her internal wounds were still tender. Sure, the skin on her neck had healed fast enough, but her innards were going much slower. When the miasma was injected into her neck, it wasted no time in seeking out and dissolving her nerve endings, throat, the outermost part of her lungs and heart, her stomach, the bones around her shoulders and chest, and various other internal organs. If it weren't for her miko powers and Inuyasha's youkai blood, she would have quickly died from internal bleeding or, if she hadn't expelled the miasma, simple lack of internal organs. But she was healing now, slowly, and so she needed her rest.

_Besides,_ she told herself, _you still need to say goodbye to the others._

A few hours later, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were awake and saying goodbye to Kagome and one another. Last night the three of them had decided that they would all spend some time away from each other to figure out their thoughts and feelings and, hopefully, find atonement over the loss of Inuyasha. After all, even though they weren't as affected by Inuyasha's death as Kagome, they were still extremely shaken up by it. For Shippo, it marked the loss of the closest thing he had to a father, and for Sango and Miroku it was a cold reminder that they weren't immortal and one of them could die. Over the three years they had traveled, and after all the times they had cheated death, their mortality had become a forgotten factor. Until now.

All goodbyes having been said, Kagome climbed down the sacred well and felt the familiar feeling of weightlessness as the time slip opened up and engulfed her. A few seconds later she felt solid ground beneath her feet. Looking up, Kagome saw the roof of the well house above her head and sighed mentally. She was home.

Kagome walked out of the well house and was greeted by the smell of pollution and the sound of traffic and yelling. _No wonder Inuyasha doesn't like it here; it's a putrid sensual overload._ Kagome thought as she crossed the shrine grounds to her house. From inside she could hear Jii-chan's snoring, her mother cooking breakfast, and Sota watching cartoons.

_Must be Saturday_ Kagome thought idly as she approached the front door. _I wonder how they will react to my transformation._ Kagome could feel beads of sweat gathering on her forehead and she could smell her own nervousness._ I guess I should show myself to Sota first; he will take it the easiest. I just hope he doesn't ask about Inuyasha._ Kagome shoved that last thought away as quickly as it appeared. Although Kaede's words had helped her immensely, Kagome still wasn't over the fact that Inuyasha, her recently discovered first love, was dead.

Taking in a deep breath, Kagome opened the door, being careful not to break or scratch the doorknob with her claws of course, and walked into her family room.

"Hi Sota, I'm back." Kagome said with a weary voice.

"NEE-CHAN!" Sota exclaimed a little too loudly "You're ba—what happened to you!" Sota had just realized Kagome's transformation and looked at her with a mix of aw, excitement, and a hint of jealousy. "You look like Inu nii-chan! Does this mean that you and Inuyasha have mated?" Sota asked looking hopeful; he would love to have his hero Inuyasha be his brother.

"YOU AND INUYASHA WHAT?" Kagome's mother was standing in the doorway with a look on her face that would send shivers down Naraku's spine. She had walked into the room to tell Sota that breakfast was ready when she heard him say that Kagome and Inuyasha had "mated".

"No mother, Sota was asking a question because of how I look. And would you please not scream so loud, it _really_ hurts my ears."

"Why, what happened to you?" Jii-chan was awaken by Kagome's mother's screams and was standing the top of the stairs with a look of curiosity and dread on his face. _If anything has happened to her that will bring dishonor to our family…_

_This isn't looking good. You'd better calm them down and start explaining_.

'_Or kill them before they kill you._'

_NO! That's your _family_ you're talking about Kagome, and you refuse to do _anything _to harm them._' Kagome practically screamed to herself.

"Mom, Jii-chan, you might want to sit down." They nodded and moved to get a chair to sit in. It was a good thing Jii-chan and Kagome's mom were in shock over Kagome's metamorphosis or they would be yelling their heads off at her. While they sat themselves down Kagome braced herself emotionally before starting.

"Well, about three days ago, me and Inuyasha and our other friends ran into Naraku." Kagome paused for a breath and everyone shifted in their seats nervously at the mention of Kagome's most powerful enemy. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

"During the fight, Inuyasha and I, were both badly wounded by Naraku and injected by miasma. I was able to drive the miasma out with my miko powers, but was still mortally wounded from it." Kagome's voice started to tremble at this point as she mentally relived the horrific events that changed her life.

"I-I was a-about to, die, w-w-when Inuyasha c-came and saved me. H-He told me that, he w-would give me, his y-youk-kai blood, so that m-m-y body could heal, e-even though it m-meant, that h-he would, he would…" Kagome couldn't bring herself to say what happened to Inuyasha. She let the stream of tears that she had been desperately trying to hold back come pouring out of her, and she cried for two minutes before she was able to continue, at which time she started feeling a sharp pain in her neck.

"Inuyasha's youkai blood, saved my life. It sped up my bodies natural healing by turning me into a hanyou, but…"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Jii-chan yelled at Kagome as he stood up. Kagome looked shocked and afraid at Jii-chan's sudden outburst and started to tremble as he towered over her while he continued talking.

"Kagome I am utterly disappointed in your lack of half a brain. It was bad enough when you started _associating_ with a demon, but to actually _become _one! Girl, you have brought shame upon yourself and shame upon this family. I forbid you to return to that time before you do some other _air-headed_ thing and bring shame to us in the eyes of the Kami's." Jii-chan practically spat his demand on Kagome. Disgust was written all over his face and he looked like he was about to try and seal her to a tree. (A/N: no pun intended)

Kagome looked to her mother for support, but she didn't look any more pleased than Jii-chan.

"I'm sorry Kagome, but I agree with Jii-chan on this one. You have put your life in danger one too many times. I have always told you to be careful, and I actually thought you were listening to my request. But now I see that I was wrong. You didn't honor my request and now look what happened: somebody died. Next time it could be _you_ that dies; it almost was this time! I won't allow you to put yourself in these types of situations any more."

"But mother, I _have_ to go back! Onegai, just…"

"Kagome, NO! I'm putting my foot down on this. End of discussion." Kagome's mother gave Kagome a stern angry look as Kagome started to cry again. A knock on the door followed by the sound of it opening and a familiar voice got everyone's attention.

"Hello?" Yuka could be seen walking into the room followed by Eri, Ayumi, and Hojo. "Is every thing alright? Sorry, we heard shouting and thought…OH MY KAMI! KAGOME IS THAT YOU?" All four of Kagome's friends had mixed looks of shock and horror on their faces. They saw their best friend sitting in front of them crying, but she looked like she was part dog.

"Kagome, what happened to you? Is this some sort of sickness or something?"

Sota sent an evil glare at Kagome before standing up and addressing Kagome's friends. He knew exactly how he would get revenge on his sister for letting Inuyasha die.

"Guess what Yuka, Eri, Ayumi, and Hojo, Kagome has been lying to you for three years!"

At hearing this, the now very distraught Kagome started to panic. "Sota, please," Kagome begged "don't tell them about…" Kagome stopped when everyone in the room, including her friends, glared at her.

"Kagome, you keep out of this. You have been living in a fairy-tale long enough. It's time your "friends" found out why you've _really_ been missing school for three years." Kagome's mother glared at Kagome as she said this. It would hurt Kagome, but it was for her own good.

"Thank you mother." Sota smiled evilly, as he whispered "I hate you" to Kagome. "Anyways, remember when Kagome turned fifteen…"

Kagome sat and watched in horror as three years of secrets were spilled out in front of her friends. All she was allowed to do was look at the shocked and hurt faces of her friends as they learned that all their efforts to help her were for nothing, because Kagome had been dishonest. When Sota got to the part where Kagome turned into a hanyou, her friends looked to her frightened, and Yuka even took a step back.

"Yuka, Eri, Ayumi, Hojo, please let me explain." Kagome started to move towards them but they took a step back.

"S-Stay away from us demon." Yumi said unsurely as she continued to slowly retreat. "I'm sorry Kagome, but we don't know you."

Kagome, who was still emotionally shook up over Inuyasha's death and her family's reaction to her, was loosing control of her demon instinct. The more hurt a youkai or hanyou get, the stronger the hold their instincts have on their body. And here was Kagome, who was currently emotionally mutilated and had little control over her instinct to begin with. Her eyes were starting to flash red as the demon blood in her body fought for control so that it could defend her.

"Please, listen to me," Kagome begged as she cried, "you guys are my best friends. You have to understand,"

"What we understand, Kagome," Hojo cut in, "is that you have been lying to us for three years now. You have tricked us into caring about you, you made us worry for you, and you didn't even have the courtesy to tell us the truth about yourself. No friend _I_ know, would act that way. But then again, what can you expect from a _demon_?" Hojo spat the last word out as he walked forward and slapped her across the face.

"Consider our friendship over." Hojo turned to walk away when he heard a growl from behind him. Kagome's eyes were now blood red, there were two jagged purple stripes on each cheek, and her claws and fangs had grown longer. She had snapped. Hojo, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi screamed and ran out of the room as Kagome lifted the couch they had been sitting on and threw it after them, growling in fury. The couch hit the doorway and crashed through it before falling to the ground, almost hitting her former friends in the back. She was about to chase after them when she felt something hit her in the back and emit a slight shock. Not enough to hurt, but still noticeable.

"Kagome, you have brought dishonor to the Higurashi name and to yourself. You have stooped to the level of a demon and attacked a human being. I hereby banish you from this family and hope to never see you again. DEMON BEGONE!" Jii-chan yelled this at Kagome as he threw another ofuda at her in hopes of either sealing her or driving her way.

Kagome growled as the small man and tore the ofudas off before leaping at him and gabbing him by the neck. She knew him from somewhere, but that didn't matter; he had attacked her and that was unforgivable. The older woman let out an annoying shriek and the little boy looked at her with a look of horror on his face. She could smell thick fear pouring out of them and she liked it. She raised her claws towards the old man's neck, about to draw blood, when form deep inside of her, something made her stop just as she was about to get her reward and atonement. The feeling was so strong that and instead of attacking the old human, Kagome dropped him roughly on the floor and smashed through a wall.

Kagome's demon instincts, like every other beings instincts, were hardwired with two basic commands: fight or flight. And while youkai usually chose to fight, Kagome had forced hers to choose flight instead. So Kagome's demon blood took her to the safest place it knew of. Kagome smashed through the door of the well house, and in a flash, disappeared down the sacred well.

**A/N:** Well, there it is: the first chapter. I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have: ) Just to let you all know, I don't start posting a fic until it is finished (personally I hate having to wait 3 months for authors to get up their next chapter). But I don't want to post it all at once because that would ruin the suspense. So the deal that I'm making with you is this: as soon as you want the next chapter, submit a review saying so. As soon as I have enough reviews (probably three or four per chapter) I will submit the next chapter the following day. That way we're all happy; you get another chapter in a timely basis, and I get reviews. Deal? Deal. And as added incentive, I'll even give you a sneak preview of the next chapter, **Messages From Beyond**

Her Kagome's relief was short lived however, because as soon as she was 100 meters from the village she saw and heard that she wasn't exactly welcome there. The children that had been playing outside ran to their mothers who quickly sheltered them and took them inside while glaring daggers at Kagome.

The other villagers would stop what they were doing when they saw her, and whisper insults as she past by. Although it wasn't immediately their intention, they said things loud enough for her hanyou hearing to pick up. "Hanyou, filthy half-breed." "Why doesn't she go back to hell where she belongs?" "We should drive that abomination out of the village before it attacks us." "What is that freak doing here? It's not like anyone wants it around here." "I don't think that piece of filth is wanted anywhere." Someone threw a rock at her when she passed and Kagome had to fight to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling out. She knew that if the villagers saw her cry, it would only encourage them to act out more and more harshly.

"Hey half-breed! Why don't you crawl back to the filth that spawned you? We don't want our village tainted by your presence, so do yourself a favor, be a good bitch, and go back to hell where you belong!" Kagome could hear the murmurs of agreement echo through the villagers. Fearing for her life and dodging rocks and sticks, Kagome fled the village.


	3. Messages From Beyond

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Youkai: demon

Hanyou: half demon

Jii-chan: grandpa

Baka: stupid/idiot

Babaa: a colloquial, rude way of referring to old women; has the connotation of "old hag"

Ningen: human

**Chapter 2: Messages From Beyond**

Kagome woke up with a pounding headache. She could tell by the pale light that it was almost dawn. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being rejected by her family and friends, then her youkai blood taking over her body to try and protect her from the pain it was causing her. By the time she left her house she had slipped into unconsciousness because of the mental stress she had endured. Her youkai blood must have taken her some place it deemed as "safe", because right now she was up a tree in the middle of a forest.

She didn't recognize where her youkai side had taken her by sight, so she decided to try using another of her senses. Despite what her instincts were telling her, Kagome needed to find Kaede's village and be with Miroku and Sango and Kirara and Shippo. She needed comfort, because right now her life was falling apart before her very eyes and there was nothing she could do about it.

Closing her eyes, Kagome took a deep sniff to see if she could recognize any thing. Although most of the scents were new and unknown to her, Kagome did recognize the smell of grass, the trees around her, herbs, Inuyasha, smoke, and…wait, _Inuyasha_?

_This must be Inuyasha's Forest._ Kagome thought to herself, proud that she had figured it out. _That means that the village is in this direction!_

Kagome leapt down from the tree she was in and started running in the direction she hoped Kaede's village was. She let a small smile come across her face as she thought how cool these new senses of her were, and when she realized that she wasn't falling over. She was still sad depressed and confused, but didn't mean she couldn't have a few happy thoughts. Kagome had always been a person who would try focus on the brighter side of things, and this was no exception to her rule. Besides, last time she let her true emotions show she had turned full youkai and almost killed her family. Where they her family? She wasn't quite sure any more. They had _looked_ like her family, but something about them was different, was out of place. Like a mirage. You think it is real because you can see it, but something about it doesn't seem real. That was how her family felt to her the other day; her eyes said they were real, everything else said they weren't.

Kagome let a sigh of relief escape her lips when she saw the village. She was safely back at the village now. Her relief was short lived however, because as soon as she was 100 meters from the village she saw and heard that she wasn't exactly welcome there. The children that had been playing outside ran to their mothers who quickly sheltered them and took them inside while glaring daggers at Kagome.

The other villagers would stop what they were doing when they saw her, and whisper insults as she past by. Although it wasn't immediately their intention, they said things loud enough for her hanyou hearing to pick up. "Hanyou, filthy half-breed." "Why doesn't she go back to hell where she belongs?" "We should drive that abomination out of the village before it attacks us." "What is that freak doing here? It's not like anyone wants it around here." "I don't think that piece of filth is wanted anywhere." Someone threw a rock at her when she passed and Kagome had to fight to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling out. She knew that if the villagers saw her cry, it would only encourage them to act out more and more harshly.

"Hey half-breed! Why don't you crawl back to the filth that spawned you? We don't want our village tainted by your presence, so do yourself a favor, be a good bitch, and go back to hell where you belong!" Kagome could hear the murmurs of agreement echo through the villagers. Fearing for her life and dodging rocks and sticks, Kagome decided to flee the village. Later, using her hanyou speed, she could sneak back in and make a run for Kaede's hut. There she would be safe, or at least she hoped.

After letting the villager's cool of for a few hours, Kagome snuck around to the back of the village, where she heard and smelt the fewest people and did exactly what she planed. When Kagome was safely with Kaede, she told her about what had happened, letting her emotions flow for the first time that day.

When Kaede saw Kagome walk into her hut, she immediately had a pretty good idea as to what had happened. But Kaede knew that sometimes people don't need words to make them feel better, just need a shoulder to cry on; so that is what she gave her. After all, what _can_ you say to a person who was just abandoned by their family? After Kagome had finished her story and had cried as much as she needed to, Kaede had one of the villagers go to find Miroku Shippo Sango and Kirara. Then Kaede made some herbal tea for Kagome and tried to comfort her a little more.

"Kagome, if you want, I could help ye to control your youkai blood. I may not have the knowledge you need, but I do know of one who may. Go visit the youkai master-smith Toutousai, he may be able to help you. After all, it was he who made the Tessaiga and Tenseiga, and helped keep Inuyasha's youkai blood in check. If anyone would be able to help ye, it would be he."

Kagome just nodded with relief. She had been worried that she might loose control again and this time hurt someone.

Kagome then took the one ray of hope she had felt from her confrontation with her family, and focused on it to help alleviate her pain some more. That was not her family. Sure the _looked _the same, but they were too out of character to be the same people that she had grown up with and who had raised her, and she knew it. She didn't quite know how to explain it, but she could justfeel that something about them was out of place; something that didn't belong.

Kagome spent most of the day sitting in Kaede's hut, working with her youkai blood while she waited for Sango, Kirara, Shippo, and Miroku to show up. She would do things like take some herbs of Kaede's and memorize the smell of it, or take a herb that she knew was toxic and smell it to see how her youkai blood would tell her that she was in danger. She would do basic things like that to help her cope with her change and keep her mind off Inuyasha and her family. She had wanted to help Kaede pick herbs, but after what had happened earlier that morning they both decided that it was better that she stay inside.

Sometime late afternoon Sango and Kirara arrived at Kaede's hut. Sango's immediate question was why she was back already. Kagome didn't want to answer the question three times, so she told Sango that she would tell everyone once they arrived. Not wanting to push the subject, Sango said ok and the two of them sat in Kaede's hut talking about Kagome's new features and how it was like there was another voice in her head. Then their conversation moved more towards girl-talk until Miroku showed up with Shippo around dusk.

"Ok Kagome-chan, what happened? Why did you come back?"

"Yes, I was under the impression that you would be staying in your time longer. Did something happen?" Miroku inquired as he and Sango sat down in front of Kagome while Shippo jumped in her lap.

Kagome braced herself once again for another emotional stretch as she was about to relive yet another emotional trauma.

"When I got back to my time, I told my family what had happened to me and Inuyasha. At first I thought that they would comfort me like they always had. But then my neck started hurting where Naraku injected his miasma and everything went wrong. Jii-chan told me that I was a disgrace to the Higurashi name for becoming a filthy hanyou and that I couldn't come back here. My mother…" Kagome paused for a moment to regain her composure and stop her voice from shaking. At least this time she wasn't crying, "my mother s-said that she a-agreed with Jii-chan. My little brother told me th-that he…he hated me." At this, Sango started to cry for Kagome. She had a little brother too and didn't know what she would do with herself it he told her that he hated her.

"When my friends came in to see what the yelling was about, my family told them what I was, and they, they were afraid of me and told me, that they weren't my friends anymore because of what I was." Kagome was now trembling as she remembered what happened. "And the worst part of it all, w-was when I l-lost control, o-of m-my youkai blood and…attacked Jii-chan." Kagome winced at the looks of shock on her friends' faces but couldn't blame them. She had shown that she had the capacity to attack a human. "I had enough control not to h-hurt him, but I was d-disowned by m-my family. Then I ran from the house and passed out. When I woke up, I was in a tree in Inuyasha's Forest."

Kagome looked down to hide her eyes in shame. She didn't want to see the looks on their faces after admitting her monstrous act.

"Kagome-chan…" Sango started as the said miko mentally flinched _Here it comes,_' she thought, _you're goanna get chewed out and abandoned again._ "I am _so_ sorry for you. I know what it is like to have your family wrenched from you and I know how much you must be hurting inside." Sango reached out and hugged the shocked hanyou.

"Yo-you mean you're not, mad or appalled at what I almost did to them?"

"No, of course not! You had just lost your best friend and were under a lot of emotional stress, and then you were emotionally attacked by them. I am proud of you Kagome-chan for being able to hold control of your body even when you were a full youkai. Inuyasha would have completely lost control of himself and probably killed them." Sango hugged Kagome reassuringly.

"It is ok Kagome-sama. We don't hold you responsible for something you didn't do. Maybe you _almost_ killed your grandfather Kagome-sama, but the point is you _didn't_. Remember that. You did not kill anyone." Miroku added to strengthen what Sango said.

Kagome cried tears of joy into Sango's shoulder. They didn't hate her. They didn't abandon her. She was still wanted somewhere. This was a huge relief for Kagome to know that at least _here_ she had friends.

"Thank you everyone." Kagome sobbed. "You don't know what it is like to feel abandoned. Your friendship is all I have left now and it means everything to me." Kagome released Sango to smile at them. "We should get to sleep now. Tomorrow we need to go see Toutousai and see what we can do about my youkai blood."

Nodding, Miroku Sango Shippo and Kirara got into their respective sleeping spots with Kagome and lay down. Sleep quickly over took Kagome's tired mind as she drifted off into a dream.

IN KAGOME'S DREAM

Kagome couldn't move anything and there was no light; everything was dark. She was completely paralyzed and she felt this weird pain in her neck, like an electric jolt.

"KAGOME! KAGOME CAN YOU HEAR ME?" A voice called out to her from the darkness. Where did she recognize that voice from?

"KAGOME, I WON'T LEAVE YOU. IF YOU CAN HERE ME PLEASE ANSWER. IF NOT, I'LL JUST KEEP YELLING AT YOU!"

"SHUT UP! I CAN HEAR YOU!" Kagome yelled. That voice was hurting her ears. Who was it?

"Kagome, I'm so glad you're ok!" The voice seemed light and cheery…and she recognized it from somewhere.

"Yes, that's all fine and good, but who are you?" Kagome was curious to know who it was she was talking with since she couldn't move to look at the owner of the voice.

"Kagome, I'm disappointed in you. And here I thought that you would be smarter now that you aren't just a weak ningen."

"Inuyasha?" Kagome almost shouted as he came into view. He wasn't human anymore, but a hanyou.

"Yup, it's me. So, I understand you're having a hard time adjusting to my blood. Heh, that's so typical of you…"

"Wait a minute," Kagome couldn't believe she was talking to him. This was a miracle! She was about to cry "how is this possible? You're dead, I buried you myself!"

"You may have buried my body, but I gave you more than just blood, I gave you a part of me that is living in you. Therefore my soul is still able to talk to you. So anyways…" Inuyasha's voice now grew more serious, "I understand you are having a hard time adjusting to being a hanyou."

"Inuyasha, you don't know how much I need this, how much I need to talk to you!"

"Baka, of course I do! That's why I'm here talking to you. And you said _I_ was thick. You need to talk to me because you need someone to talk to who you can relate to you. Someone who has gone though the same thing that you are going though, right?"

"Yes. Inuyasha, how did you do it? How did you deal with constant rejection by the people around you? What happened to me yesterday with my family, and today at the village, I don't know if I can handle it and my youkai blood at the same time." Kagome hoped that he would be able to answer her question.

"Simple, I stopped caring for anyone and never let anyone get close to my heart. But I know that won't work for you; you're too loving to be able to live a life like that. Just remember, anyone that turns their back on you is an idiot who doesn't know what they're missing. Discrimination is just something that comes with being a hanyou. You're unclean because you are part youkai and you're an easy target because you have the blood of a weak human in you. If you remember that humans hate you because they fear your strength, it will help to ease the pain." Inuyasha seemed almost distant, like he was lost in memory while he was talking.

"Inuyasha, those words mean soooo much more coming from you." Kagome was already starting to feel happier.

"And as for controlling your youkai blood," he continued like he hadn't heard her, "I can't be of much help to you. I had Tessaiga to help me so my blood was constantly being quieted. But for what it's worth, I think that if you try to reason with it like you would an actual youkai, it will be easier to control. After all it is _your_ blood, so you are it's main concern. It wants to keep you safe and alive so it should listen to you if you convince it that what you want is good for you."

"Thank you Inuyasha. You don't know how much you've helped me just now, in more than one way." Kagome's heart and mind were overflowing with relief thanks to Inuyasha. "I love you so much"

"I love you too, Kagome." Kagome could hear the tenderness in his voice and knew that he meant it. "Kagome, there is one thing I would like you to do for me. Please, wake up. You need to wake up"

Kagome could feel a tingling sensation all over her body, like her whole body had fallen asleep. She could also feel her entire body shaking.

"KAGOME-SAMA! KAGOME-SAMA YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! THE VILAGERS ARE ATTACKING!"

At that Kagome bolted up. Miroku was shaking her and she saw fear in his eyes and smelt it filling the room. She could still feel the tingling sensation in her neck. Looking around the hut Kagome could see that the others were wide awake and looked ready to bolt out of the hut. From out side she could hear Kaede talking to the villagers trying to get them to stop their mob. Wait, _MOB!_

_The villagers must have figured out you were here and formed a mob to try and drive you out._ The relief from Kagome's dream was quickly dissipating as she heard Kaede failing to talk some reason into the villagers.

"Please, this is Kagome you are talking about; she means no harm to us! You must stop this foolishness at once."

"Why should we listen to you?" One of the villagers retorted. "You've become a youkai-sympathizer. It was bad enough when you allowed Inuyasha to enter the village, and now you're letting this new youkai in? Where will it end Kaede-babaa? When we have been kicked out of our own village by the youkai you are letting in? I say we get rid of you while we're at it!" There was a shout of agreement as the mob grew more and more agitated.

"Kagome-chan we have to leave now or we could get killed." Sango warned Kagome.

"Okay, let's go" Sango Miroku and Shippo exited out of the back of the hut riding on the transformed Kirara while Kagome ran behind them.

"HEY! THEY'RE MAKING A BREAK FOR IT! OUT OF OUR WAY BABAA." Kagome's heart stopped when she heard someone drawing a sword, followed by the smell of blood and the sound of Kaede dropping to the ground dead.

The mob chased Kagome and her friends for half an hour before giving up and returning to the village. During the chase Kagome had been hit by rocks, had insults thrown at her, and dodged arrows that were shot at her. Needles to say she was exhausted. Not to mention emotionally torn up again because of Kaede's death.

Sango and Shippo mourned for her with Kagome while Miroku made her a grave and offered his prayers for her soul. They too, had been exhausted.

Kagome bit back the tears and sorrow that were threatening to engulf her emotions and started to listen to what her youkai instincts were telling her. She was a hanyou now. That meant that she _will_ be hurt, _will_ be abandoned, _will_ be attacked, her friends _will_ get attacked, and since she can't do a thing about it, _will_ not let her guard down.

This was what Kagome thought, right before a huge, vicious, and incredibly strong bear youkai came and started viciously attacking the exhausted group. Sango and Miroku had spent all their energy on protecting Kagome and themselves from the villagers and had nothing to give in the way of offense or defense, Kirara could barley stand after the long run, and Shippo couldn't fight. The group's survival rested entirely on the exhausted Kagome's shoulders, and she had never fought hand-to-hand or as a hanyou before in her life.

**A/N: **I've decided that I will update with only one review this time (aren't I nice?). But next time I WON'T update until I get at least two new reviews. Hope you guys are liking the story! And just as added incentive to review, here's a preview of the next chapter, The Haunting:

"Kagome let her youkai instincts take over, and she immediately sprang into action. As the oni swung its bone at Kagome, she leapt over it into the air and swiped her claws at the brute's neck. The ogre tried to swat her away, but was too slow and Kagome easily dodged its hand, doing a back-flip in the air and landing in front of the brute. When she landed Kagome was shocked and disappointed to see that her attack had no affect on the youkai. Even when Sango, who had recovered her hiraikotsu from behind it, brought town the weapon on the ogre's neck it only seemed to be amused by the attack.

"Heh, heh, heh." The oni deeply laughed. "Weak mortals can't hurt me. Skin too thick." As he spoke, the oni swung its bone at Kagome and Sango, effectively catching them in a state of shock and off guard. Sango flew into a tree and was knocked unconscious. Kagome was able to right herself in the air and dig her claws into the ground, effectively dragging herself to a halt. But when she stood up from the crouch she landed in, Kagome was forced back down in pain. Blood was pouring out of her sides and back. Apparently her youkai healing wasn't fast enough."

So get those reviews in quickly to get the rest of the chapter! Until next time


	4. The Haunting

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Kitsune: fox/fox demon

Inu hanyou: half demon dog

Houshi: a low rank of Buddhist monk; often a wandering one, with combat training

Taijiya: Demon slayer

Oni: Ogre

Hiraikotsu: flying bone

Hijin Ketsuso: Blades of Blood

Shikon no Tama: Jewel of Four Souls

Miko: Shinto (Japanese religion) priestess

Arigato: Thank you

Sengoku Jidai: Feudal Era or Warring-states Era (time period that Inuyasha takes place)

Gomen ne: sorry, pardon me.

Youkai: demon

Youki: the aura that youkai give off (the demonic wind that Inuyasha sees when he first starts using the kaze no kizu or wind scar)

**Chapter 3: The Haunting**

Kagome woke up unable to move and with a throbbing headache. She could taste blood in her mouth and, reaching her senses out to her body, Kagome became aware of several huge bruises on her arms, legs, and sides. She tried to sit up but it felt like she was pined down by red-hot pokers on her sides and left leg. A little more awake now, Kagome realized she had several broken ribs, a sprained ankle, and judging by the burning/stinging sensation she felt every time she moved, three deep gashes in from her right shoulder blade down to her left hip. There was also a sort of numb stinging feeling coming from her neck, but she couldn't identify what it was.

Realizing she wasn't going to go anywhere soon, Kagome decided to focus her attentions on figuring out her surroundings. First she tried sniffing the air, but quickly decided to discontinue that adventure; the air was filled with the overwhelming sent of blood of all types, human, bear, kitsune, and inu-hanyou, as well as the stinging stench of decay. The only thing sniffing the air was doing was making her tremendous headache worse.

_That's right,_ she thought, _there was a fight last night._ Although the memory was hazy, Kagome distinctly remembered something about the villagers rioting, and then a bear youkai attacking them.

With a renewed sense of fear for her friends' lives, Kagome listened intently for any signs that they would be alive. There was the sound of birds chirping and she could hear a squirrel somewhere nearby chewing on a nut. Reaching out her senses further Kagome heard a fire crackling close to her, the rustling of wind blowing through grass, the soft purrs of a cat, someone humming, and although her head was still too hazy to make out any words, she could hear two males talking softly.

_The two males must be Shippo and Miroku,_ Kagome thought as she tried to interpret the sounds, _the fire is probably a campfire, and the cat's purring might be Kirara being pet by Sango. I sure hope you're right Kagome. _ Relieved that her friends were still alive, Kagome allowed her mind to rest as her hanyou blood started healing her body and mind.

"Come on Kagome, you gotta wake up!"

_Who's there?_

"I can't figure out what's wrong with her."

_That sounds like Miroku's voice._

"She's not gonna to die, is she?"

_And that's Shippo._

"Of course not runt! Come on Kagome, wake up."

_Inuyasha_.

"Kagome, wake up, please wake up!"

_Inuyasha?_

"Kagome wake up!"

_Inuyasha!_

"KAGOME-SAMA!"

"INUYASHA!"

"Ouch!"

Miroku had been trying to wake Kagome up when she sat up suddenly, hitting her head against his.

"Ow, great, and my headache had finally gone away too. Wait, where's Inuyasha?" Kagome twisted and turned her head and torso frantically; trying to locate him in spite of the pain it was causing her back, arms, and basically her whole body. She couldn't smell him anywhere, but that didn't mean anything. She knew he was there.

"Kagome, what are you talking about?" Miroku asked as he rubbed his head. He was so confused. Shippo and Sango came over, partially because they were relieved that Kagome was awake but also because they were curious about what Kagome was talking about too.

"Inuyasha. I heard him talking to me just now, telling me to wake up. How could you guys not see him? He was right there! What are you, blind? Are you playing some cruel trick or me? Because if you are it's not funny! WHERE DID HE GO!" Kagome was getting frantic now. She knew he had been there, and not being able to find him was driving her crazy. She moved to get up but was held back by Miroku and Sango.

"Listen to me Kagome-chan," Sango tried, "Inuyasha is not here, that was Houshi-sama that was trying to wake you up."

"She's right Kagome" Shippo piped in, "Inuyasha isn't here anymore, you must have been dreaming it."

"But," Kagome was very distressed now. She _had_ heard his voice. Hadn't she? "I heard him; I swear heard him…didn't I?" Her eyes were closed now as she fought off tears. The thought of him not being here after she had gotten her hopes up, she couldn't handle it. Not after everything she had just been through.

"I'm sorry Kagome-sama, I truly am" Miroku tried to make her feel better. "You have been through a lot recently and are probably under a lot of stress and guilt. Your mind was just playing tricks on you, which wouldn't be hard for it to do after last night. Don't worry, you'll get over it."

"Why? What happened last night?"

"Don't you remember what happened after the villagers 'escorted' us out of the village?" Miroku asked.

_No, that's why I asked _Kagome thought sarcastically. "No. I remember seeing a bear youkai, but I can't remember what happened after that. It's all hazy."

"Well," Miroku started, "Sango, Kirara, Shippo, and I were exhausted from trying to fend off the villagers without hurting them and dodging them, so we knew we wouldn't stand a chance against it. The youkai charged at us head on with its claws and we were barely able to dodge it. You leapt up to meet it and swiped at it's shoulder when its claws tore into the ground, but your attack didn't to anything. As you were falling to the ground from you leap, its claws dug into your back and went limp; I thought you had died. We were about to take Shippo and make a run for it, when all of a sudden you jumped out of no where with a red gleam in your eyes and two purple jagged stripes on your cheeks, kind of like when Inuyasha's youkai blood takes over his mind. The youkai swatted you away again and you crashed through several trees before righting yourself and charging back towards it. This time you dodged its claws and you started slashing relentlessly at the youkai's chest in spite of your injuries, tearing chunks of flesh and bone away from its body with each strike. It was truly frightening, seeing you bathed in blood with that demonic gleam in your eyes. After you were done shredding the youkai you started licking the blood off your claws when you started sniffing the air in our direction. Then started charging at us too with the same look of hunger in your eyes. Luckily, before you reached any of us you collapsed on the ground."

Kagome had a look of horror on her face. Not only had she gone full youkai and completely brutalized another youkai, but she had attacked her friends as well. Kagome tried to talk, or get up, or do something to defend herself, but she found that nothing worked. All she could do was sit there, shaking.

Sensing her friends despair, Sango walked over. "You saved our lives last night, Kagome-chan. You shouldn't feel ashamed or scared by what you did. You were looking death in the face so your instincts took over to save us."

"Yeah, but I also almost killed you guys too." _That's what your youkai blood wants. That's probably why you did it, why you attacked Sango-chan and Miroku-sama. Maybe you can convince it that they're your friends._

'_Fat chance. I told you before and I'll tell you again: humans aren't very understanding of hanyous. Especially houshis and **taijiya. There is just no way they're our friends.'**_

**_But we've been traveling together for almost 2 years now, and we look to each other like a family. We take care of each other and feed each other; we look after each other when one of us is sick; if one of us were killed the others would get revenge. Wouldn't that make us like, a pack or something?_**

'**_Trust. Well, if you put it that way, then yes, they're not just some ningen, they're you pack. Acceptance, wary. But that doesn't mean you're lowering your guard. You're still adjusting to your body and are very vulnerable. This is the time that youkai are going to be after you the most. They will keep coming after you until you kill a bunch of them and scare the others off. Pride. Don't worry; you'll be able to protect yourself.'_**

**_Ok. And thanks, for agreeing not to kill your pack family._**

'_**Feh'**_

"Kagome-chan?"

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?" Sango asked, "You just spaced out there for a minute."

"Yes, I'm alright," Kagome forced a smile. "I was just getting my instincts under control." Kagome sat up (thank you youkai healing) and greeted Shippo and he jumped in her lap and gave her a hug.

"I'm so glad you're alright Kagome. Are you hungry? Miroku finished cooking breakfast. Come on, let's go eat." Kagome smiled at Shippo's enthusiasm. He was always able to make her smile, even in the darkest of times he was like a light to her world; now more than ever since Inuyasha was gone.

A loud thundering sound followed by the shaking of the ground snapped Kagome out of her reverie. _What's that?_ she thought to herself. From out of the forest a huge oni appeared, easily 15 feet tall and probably 20 tons judging by the size of its girth. Its pale green skin housed dark brown spots that covered most of its shoulders and upper arm but strayed down at random places on its body, like it had had mud caked to its body that dried, cracked, and had mostly fallen off. The morning sunlight was reflected off its bald greasy head and its mouth was opened, revealing two sets of six inch long razor-sharp teeth. Drool poured out of its open mouth and landed on the only piece of clothing the hideous creature displayed: a brown, animal-skin loincloth that looked as dirty as the creature that wore it was ugly. The oni carried in its hand the large femur of some unknown youkai and carried on its face a look of stupidity. Yet despite the dumb look, the oni was able to speak.

"I find breakfast." It said in a low rumbling voice. "Tasty humans and weak hanyou look good. I kill and eat now."

With that, the oni charged at Kagome, Miroku, and Sango, who were in a slight state of shock at the appearance of a youkai this early in the morning. Miroku knew that he was no use in a battle against a youkai this big, so he took Shippo and Kirara to safety while Sango and Kagome battled the new threat.

"HIRIAKOTSU!" Sango yelled as she threw her trademark giant boomerang at the oni. But it simply used its own bone to knock the boomerang away, lodging it in a tree, and kept on charging. Both Sango and, in spite of the immense pain it caused her, Kagome, leapt out of the way as the oni brought its huge bone down right where they had just been.

'_Anger. Let's take care of this. Pride, pleasure. No one will call you weak and get away with it.'_

_Yeah._

Kagome let her youkai instincts take over, and she immediately sprang into action. As the oni swung its bone at Kagome, she leapt over it into the air and swiped her claws at the brute's neck. The ogre tried to swat her away, but was too slow and Kagome easily dodged its hand, doing a back-flip in the air and landing in front of the brute. When she landed Kagome was shocked and disappointed to see that her attack had no affect on the youkai. Even when Sango, who had recovered her hiraikotsu from behind it, brought town the weapon on the ogre's neck it only seemed to be amused by the attack.

"Heh, heh, heh." The oni deeply laughed. "Weak mortals can't hurt me. Skin too thick." As he spoke, the oni swung its bone at Kagome and Sango, effectively catching them in a state of shock and off guard. Sango flew into a tree and was knocked unconscious. Kagome was able to right herself in the air and dig her claws into the ground, effectively dragging herself to a halt. But when she stood up from the crouch she landed in, Kagome was forced back down in pain. Blood was pouring out of her sides and back. Apparently her youkai healing wasn't fast enough.

'_Anger, fury! So his skin is too tough is it? That's what _he_ thinks.'_

Kagome let a smirk appear on her face as she dipped her claws in the blood that was pouring out of her newly reopened wounds. "Hey oni!" Kagome shouted. The ogre clumsily turned to look at her. "Let's see your skin take this. HIJIN KETSUSO!" Kagome swiped at the air in front of the oni, and two crimson sickles flew from her youki enriched claws into the oni's neck, easily decapitating it.

"Who's a weak hanyou now." Kagome said with a smirk as she watched the lifeless corps of her former opponent fall to the ground. _'It was weak. You could've easily killed twenty of them.' _

_Then why are you lying on your back from exhaustion? _

Indeed, as soon as the oni had hit the ground Kagome was lying on her back in dead exhaust. She was tired and sore before the battle had started. Now she was exhausted and all her wounds that had started to heal were worse than they had been. Miroku had effectively revived Sango (and now sported a lovely hand print for it) and the two of them were talking to her. Something about that being incredible and where did she learn to fight like that, but she didn't care to listen. All she wanted was to lie down and sleep. However, the sound of approaching youkai told her she wouldn't get to rest yet.

No less than 100 different youkai, attracted by the smell of blood and the presence of a hanyou, started pouring into the clearing where Kagome and the others were currently located. _Dang it. Heh, no rest for the weary, is there?_ Kagome asked to no one in particular.

And that is how life was for the next month. Kagome would be attacked by one youkai and defeat it, then hundreds of lesser youkai would come, attracted by the scent of a hanyou's blood. At first Miroku and Sango would help out, but after one week of constant battles like this they were usually too tired to help; so when they were recovering from their exhaust and wounds they would keep Shippo safe with Kirara. When she wasn't fighting, Kagome would help the others by applying the little bit of healer knowledge that Kaede had passed onto her in the past three years. She would combine her modern medicine with herbs to make all sorts of pain-killers, antibiotics, and medicines; she used her youkai senses to make sure they weren't harmful. Then she would apply whatever she knew she needed to onto their wounds before bandaging them up; oddly enough she also perfected her bandaging skills during this time. She learned how to hunt and fish so that she could provide her pack with meals and was quite proficient at it. All her sense were sharpened and after the fist week, Kagome could sense a youkai coming five minutes before it arrived; this made it possible for the others to get prepared (offensively or defensively) so they wouldn't be caught off guard. Kagome, with the help of her youkai blood, learned to fight with her claws and quickly became as quick and agile as Inuyasha was (it's amazing how quickly your body can adjust to sudden pressures like fighting for your life at least five times a day).

Throughout the month, in addition to all the things Kagome learned to do to preserve her life and the lives of her pack, Kagome found out about complications because of her transformation, that hadn't immediately surfaced. During one of her battles, for instance, Kagome was shocked to find out that the youkai she was fighting had a shard of the Shiko no Tama, and that she hadn't sensed the jewel shard at all. Also, the first time she tried to use a sacred arrow, she was disappointed to find that it was just a regular arrow. Apparently, becoming a hanyou made her "unclean" and she had lost her powers because of it. She was no longer a miko. She was simply a dirty, evil half breed. Hated by humans and hunted by youkai. The though of never being accepted again would have driven her into a deeper state of despair than the loss of Inuyasha had. The only reason that it didn't was because the constant youkai attacks kept her busy and took her mind off of her problems.

After a month, the battles had become less frequent and she was able to start healing her many wounds. Sango and Miroku were thankful for having survived the onslaught and Shippo was especially glad that it seemed to be over; he had been in practically a constant state of panic, seeing his adoptive mother constantly fighting for hers and his life.

Since the youkai attacks had all but stopped, Kagome decided that everyone should take a break to rest and recuperate.

"I think it would do us all a lot of good right now. We're all exhausted, and I'm out of supplies from my time. Even if my family won't get me supplies, that doesn't mean I can't buy some myself." Kagome said as they walked towards the well. She was trying to convince the others to take a break with her, since they all desperately needed it.

"If you are sure that you can handle being in your time again, then I agree with you." Miroku said. "But what will you do to hide your youkai features? From what you've told us it doesn't sound like you would make it very far in your time as a hanyou."

"She could use my scarf to tie over her head." Sango suggested helpfully. "There isn't much left to carry in it anyways. Most of my armor broke when we were fighting last month so I won't need my scarf again until I can visit my village and replace it."

"Arigato, Sango-chan. So when should meet up again?"

"Well," Miroku started; hand on his chin like he was thinking hard, "I think that two days should be enough time to get everything done. Is that enough time for you to visit your village, Sango?"

"Yes, that sounds like plenty of time." Sango said

"Hey! What about me? What am _I _going to do?" Shippo asked in an anxious, worried voice.

"Shippo, I want you to stay with Miroku until I get back. Ok?" Kagome said in a motherly voice. _You sound like his mother. 'That's because you _are_ his mother now. Remember, baka?'_

"Ok," Shippo replied slightly downcast. He didn't want to leave Kagome, but he didn't seem to have a choice in the matter.

"So we'll meet back here at the well in two days." Kagome bid her friends farewell and leapt into the well. Before she hit the bottom, Kagome felt a dull pain in her neck. She definitely needed this break. Kagome hit the bottom of the well and felt the now not-so familiar of weightlessness as the time rip opened up and swallowed her in its light purple light. She seemed to float there for a few seconds until she felt her feet on solid ground.

But something wasn't right. Kagome's now fine-tuned sense told her that she was not in the well house, but rather still in the Sengoku Jidai. Looking up, Kagome's suspicions were confirmed when she saw sky over head. _What is going on?_ She wondered. _You felt the time-rip open, so you know the well still works. So what happened?_ Not able to find an answer for herself, Kagome decided to climb out and try again. Once again the feeling of weightlessness engulfed her body before being planted firmly on the ground.

This time there was no sky over head, so Kagome knew she was in the well house. _I wonder what that was. Oh well. You can worry about that later Kagome._ Kagome leapt out of the well, only to hit her head on the top of the well entrance. "Ouch! That hurt" She complained as she held her head in her hands. _'Annoyance. Well, well, well. Looks like the old man tried to seal the well to keep you out.'_ Kagome jumped up again, but this time she swiped her claws at the top of the well to break through the weak wooden barrier.

"Well, looks like it's time to go shopping." With that Kagome put on Sango's scarf over her head (making her feel like she was from the middle east) and walked out of the well house. Remembering that she has no money, Kagome took a large sniff of air and was immediately faint from the smell of pollution; that was all she could smell. Concentrating harder, Kagome sniffed again, this time trying to block out the pollution. From what she could smell, Sota was at school and her mother and grandpa were away, probably running errands. Kagome decided to make a quick detour by her house and grabbed some emergency money her mother always kept in the kitchen.

Navigating down the noisy streets was a challenge. The smell of so many different people and the stench of pollution was making her dizzy, and everything was so loud it hurt her ears. After a few minutes of stumbling down the crowded streets, Kagome figured out that if she just spaced out (like you would when you're pretending to pay attention in class but you're really just daydreaming) her senses would blend all the sounds and smells together into one giant blob of white noise, and for the most part ignore it.

After a few minutes of this her senses picked up something unusual in this era; a faint trace of youki. It wasn't much, but it was enough for her to notice. Kagome was intrigued by this, but wanted to get back to the Sengoku Jidai as soon as possible, so she didn't investigate any further.

She finally reached a first aid store, and bought a lot of aspirin, Tylenol, iodine, Ibuprofen, Ketoprofen, **Penicillin, **Neomycin, Rifamycin, Gentamicin, Vancomycin, and Amphotericin B. She also purchased gauze pads, bandages, mole skin, some special wood for making splints, and an advanced first-aid book. She made sure that everything was non-scented (pretty easy for her to do with her nose) and biodegradable; the Sengoku Jidai was a very beautiful place, and she didn't want to be the first person to litter in it. After buying all this, along with some other miscellaneous first aid related things, Kagome headed for the supermarket.

She had bought some of the basic things they needed: water, random gadgets one would need for hiking/camping or just in general (pencils, paper, flashlights, etc), ramen, knifes, cutting board, utensils, and enough food to last for a while. She packed all this in her back-pack (which was earning her several weird glances for its size), and was about to buy some more bathing supplies when her senses made her stop dead in her tracks. She could smell corpses and graveyard soil, and she could tell that part of her soul was nearby. Sure enough, at the end of the aisle to her right, staring right at her, was Kikyo.

_How did she get here? This is just too weird. 'Danger. You don't trust her. She may not seem to be a threat, mistrust, but something isn't right. Fear, panic, danger. Let's get out of here.' Yeah._ Kagome turned around and started walking towards the exit. But if seeing Kikyo wasn't weird enough, after Kagome turned around she saw Kikyo again on the other side of the store. Just staring at her. Now she was starting to get scarred. Kagome ran from the store as fast as she could without drawing attention to herself. She went so fast that she accidentally bumped into a woman on her way out the door.

"Gomen…ne…" The person she had bumped into was Kikyo, yet again in a completely different location as before. Kagome was starting to sweat now. How was Kikyo doing that? Without a second's hesitation, Kagome shoved past her and started walking away. Her heart was beating loudly in her throat, her eyes glancing around nervously. Across the street Kagome saw a crowd of people walking along to some important meeting. When they had passed however, instead of seeing the mail box that was there before, she saw Kikyo staring at her, but this time she had a bow in her hand.

'_Fear!' _Kagome broke into a run. The loud noises and strong smells of the city were overwhelming her senses. Conversations blared in her ears, sewer gas burned her nose, a car stopped went in front of an empty street corned. When it passed, Kikyo was right there taking an arrow out of her quiver. People blurred past her; she could no longer distinguish between the different sounds. Kikyo was in a store window to her left, putting an arrow in the notch of the bow. _'Fear!' Down the street! _The street was crowded with people that Kagome dodged, and behind each person was Kikyo. _'Fear!'_ Kagome's heart beat so hard it felt like it was going to break out of her chest. Sweat was pouring off of her and running into her eyes. Kikyo was everywhere she was. _'Fear!' _There was no escape! _'Fear!' Take a left!_ The street was crowded with Kikyo, nobody was on the street anymore except a crowd of Kikyo. _'Fear!' _Kikyo pulled back the bow._ Now a right!_ _'Fear!' _Everyone on the sidewalk looked exactly like Kikyo._ 'Fear!' The shrine is just a few meters away!_ _'Fear!' _Kikyo was everywhere she looked! There was no way to escape! _'Fear!' There's the well house!_ _'Fear!' _Kikyo was on the shrine-grounds, and aiming the arrow at Kagome! _'Fear!' I did it! There's the well!_ _'Fear!' _Kikyo was aiming down into the well and released the arrow. _Safety! _

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as the feeling of weightlessness filled her body. She had made it. Soon she would be with her friends and they would be able to tell her what had just happened. Kagome's feet touched solid ground and she climbed out of the well…and found herself face to face with Kikyo._ 'Fear!' _

**A/N:** I'm glad to have gotten more reviews this time! (that whole preview thing seems to work). Thank you so much, your reviews mean a lot to me and are greatly appreciated. So to encourage even _more_ of you who are reading this but not reviewing, (you know who you are sends them an evil glare) here's a preview of the next chapter, Bloodlust and the Second Message:

Kagome's eyes started to glow red as Kikyo fired another arrow at her, but this time she dodged it with ease and leapt out of sight. Before Kikyo could grab another arrow, Kagome had dropped down from above her, snapped her bow in half and grabbed Kikyo by the neck, starring at her with her blood red eyes. And before Kikyo could retaliate, Kagome had thrown her into a tree.

"You'll pay for that." Kikyo said. As she stood up. She sounded like she wasn't scarred, but Kagome could clearly smell fear radiating off her; it was making her hungry. _'Pleasure._' Kikyo looked into Kagome's eyes, and a chill colder than her non-existent heart made its way down her spine. She had believed that Kagome was incapable of killing another human, but the color of her eyes told her otherwise. Her eyes told her exactly what Kagome wanted at that moment. What she was lusting for.

They were the color of blood.

**inuyasha-backslashwave: **I'm glad you're pleased with my work. Also you're right; the villagers _do_ end up regretting their decision. And to answer your question…smiles, you're just gonna have to wait and find out (heh heh heh)

**SlummyRedDragon:** YES! My first dedicated reviewer! Your pleasure it music to my ears; I hope it continues. And don't worry; there'll be no Kagome/Sesshomaru parings in any of my fics. Ever. The only way I can see a Sesshomaru/human paring is if it's with Rin, and the last time I checked, Rin wasn't Kagome. So no worries!

**pua lahi lahi:** Thanks for the advice; this is my first fic, so I desperately need to hear things like that. But just to let you know, it wasn't a serious warning; it was _supposed_ to be a joke…oops. Yeah, I thought it would be humorous to make a little "dear reader" warning like the one that A Series of Unfortunate Events has (I always laugh at it). But oh well. Anyways, I'm really glad you like my fic. Like I told SlummyRedDragon, it's music to my ears to hear praises like that. And thank you, by the way, for trusting me with my ooc warning; that means a lot to me. Thank you, and have a great day yourself! smiles

Again, thank you to those who have reviewed. Until next time…

Akuhonou Ryuu


	5. Bloodlust and the Second Message

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS CHAPTER IS FAIRLY GRAPHIC, EVEN FOR ME. THEREFOR THIS CHAPTER IS RATEDT+ **(little less than M, but not much)** FOR GORE AND GRAPHIC VIOLENCE UNTILL THE MESSAGE THAT IT'S OVER **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Hanyou: half demon

Houshi: a low rank of Buddhist monk; often a wandering one, with combat training

Taijiya: demon slayer

Youkai: demon

Arigato: Thank you

Baka: stupid/idiot

**Chapter 4: Bloodlust and the Second Message**

"What do you want with me?" Kagome all but shouted at Kikyo. She was breathing heavily and her heart was pounding in her throat. She didn't know how Kikyo had been moving around like that, or how she had even known about the well in the first place. Kagome was past freaking out; she was downright hysterical.

"What do you mean?" Kikyo answered in a dull voice that sounded like she didn't really care what the answer was.

"Why were you in my world? Why were you chasing me? How were you teleporting? How did you get back here before me? And why are you smiling?" Kikyo had an icy smirk on her face. The kind that says "I know something you don't know, and I'm not telling you what it is".

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I was merely passing by when I noticed the presence of a hanyou. So where is he, where's _my_ Inuyasha?" Kikyo answered with a heartless, smug voice. However, when she saw tears start rolling down Kagome's cheek from down-cast eyes, her smirk started melting into a frown.

"He's dead." Kagome answered in barely a whisper. Her ears were flat against her head, face down, and her overall appearance looked like she was being weighed down by her own grief. Kikyo had just broken open a dam of emotions that Kagome had been trying to keep closed for a month. "There was a battle with Naraku. He sacrificed himself…to save, me." Kagome collapsed to the ground, unable to support her own weight anymore. Tears were pouring out of her eyes now and she could no longer find her voice.

Kikyo's eyes were wide with shock. This wasn't supposed to happen. Inuyasha was supposed to give his life to _her,_ not that wench. But wait, if it wasn't _Inuyasha_ that she had sensed, then…

It was then that Kikyo noticed that changes in her reincarnation. "You wretch! You have poisoned my pure soul!" Kikyo yelled as her expression went from shocked to furious. "I can't believe you would stoop so low as to become a hanyou!"

"But you don't understand!" Kagome pleaded. "I had no choice! I…"

"Save it, you piece of hanyou filth!" Kikyo spat on Kagome, who had a look of shock and hurt written in her watery eyes. "Inuyasha should have been mine, but you stole him from me! I bet you let Naraku attack you on purpose so that Inuyasha would die! You are a liar and a disgrace. I will not allow such a monstrosity to live!" With that Kikyo whipped out her bow and notched an arrow. "Die half-breed!" And Kikyo fired the arrow.

Kagome was in pain from Kikyo's assault on her heart, and barely dodged the arrow.

'_Anger, pride! How dare she talk about you like that! And then try to kill you! Anger, rage, fury! You're in no condition to fight right now Kagome; I'll take care of her.'_

…

Kagome's eyes started to glow red as Kikyo fired another arrow at her, but this time she dodged it with ease and leapt out of sight. Before Kikyo could grab another arrow, Kagome had dropped down from above her, snapped her bow in half and grabbed Kikyo by the neck, starring at her with her blood red eyes. But before Kikyo could retaliate, Kagome had thrown her into a tree.

"You'll pay for that." Kikyo said. As she stood up. She sounded like she wasn't scarred, but Kagome could clearly smell fear radiating off her; it was making her hungry. _'Pleasure._' Kikyo looked into Kagome's eyes, and a chill colder than her non-existent heart made its way down her spine. She had believed that Kagome was incapable of killing another human, but the color of her eyes told her otherwise. Her eyes told her exactly what Kagome wanted at that moment. What she was lusting for.

They were the color of blood.

Taking a step back, Kikyo watched as the former hanyou, her reincarnation, sniffed the air, then lowered her thirsty gaze back to Kikyo's face. Kagome let out a rumbling growl that quickly became a roar as she lunged at her, claws extended and aimed for her throat.

Kagome snarled out her rage as she leapt for the woman who smelled of death. Something was telling her to stop, but this woman had insulted her, weakened her, attacked her, chased her, and cornered her. She would get revenge.

With a roar of pure burning hatred, Kagome plunged her claws into Kikyo's throat. She was expecting soft flesh, but instead was meat with hard clay. Her body was frail and brittle, and broke easily when she applied pressure against her. Kagome was even angrier with this, since she did not get the blood she wished. _'Hunger, rage!'_ This woman had tried to draw blood, therefore she wanted to draw blood from her. But this woman had no blood!

Growling in frustration, Kagome lashed out again, catching her low in her stomach with her claws and ripping up towards her chest. More dirt met Kagome's efforts, and she finally got tired of playing with the woman who held no blood. _'Frustration, annoyance._' She was trying to fight back, Kagome could feel the shocks from Kikyo's miko energy blasting into her, but she didn't care. She was too intent on this kill. More than any other right now, she wanted this person dead.

Kagome ran at her again, knocking her bow from her hands and slamming her against the same tree she had hit before. She gasped out in fear and pain, surprised that Kagome could move as fast as she did; she had truly underestimated her. Kikyo's eyes widened as she felt Kagome grab the top of her head, still looking into her eyes with those blood-red orbs, and her vision turned slightly before everything went black.After twisting Kikyou's head all the way around on her shoulders, the cuts she had received started glow purple before turning to white, and in a sudden burst of light, dozens of white orbs that represented the souls of little girls stolen to keep Kikyo alive exploded out of her body and flew out in all directions. When the last of the souls escaped their prison, Kikyo's body crumbled into a pile of dust.

(A/N: The next part is very gory. Those of you who are squeamish or insulted/offended by such material should plug their ears and close their eyes)

Frustrated by the fact that that woman had no blood, Kagome sniffed the air, searching for more humans. There seemed to be a nest of them near by, so she ran off in the direction from which the smell came. Eventually she came across her first prey, a male and a female on the outskirts of the nest. She followed the smell and, coming up behind them, dug her claws into their backs, enjoying the feeling of warm blood flowing onto her hands.

The humans yelled in surprise and pain, but this only served to fuel her appetite. With a smirk of satisfaction, Kagome ripped open their backs, taking a few internal organs with her. The smell of blood filled her nose and she inhaled deeply. Taking the female first, Kagome stuck her head near the in the opening that she had made in the back and sank her fangs in, savoring the sweet taste of flesh and the warm metallic blood. Kagome ripped off a chunk of flesh and swallowed it before diving in again for another bite.

The human was screaming and wriggling in pain and a vain attempt to get away; Kagome was enjoying herself greatly. The taste and feel of warm blood all over her face and claws was most pleasing to her as she drank and ate to her hearts content. The human's continued struggle was becoming an annoyance now, so Kagome ripped her arms and legs off, shivers of pleasure running down her spine when she heard the popping and cracking of breaking bones.

Satisfied with the female, Kagome snapped her neck so that she could save it for later. The male, who had effectively crawled a good hundred meters away by now in a vain attempt of escape, yelled out in agony when Kagome dug her claws into his neck. The scream of pain was music to Kagome's ears and she loved the smell of the fresh blood pouring out. It drove her crazy and she couldn't think of anything but how good it would taste. The male let out another yell, causing Kagome's stomach to rumble in anticipation, her blood tingling in her veins. But somewhere deep in the recesses of her mind, the yell reached past her youkai instincts and made it to her human mind. Kagome recognized the voice as Miroku's, and this snapped her out of the trance she was in.

(A/N: Ok, you can open them now)

Kagome looked down to see Sango's and Miroku's bloody bodies at her feet, their blood covering her hands and the taste of it in her mouth. Her eyes went wide in fear and disbelief as what she had just done registered in her mind.

_No. NO! NOOOO! This isn't happening, this isn't happening! Oh Kami, please, please, please, tell me I didn't do that! _Kagome felt like she was going to throw up as she eyed the wounds on their bodies that were most obviously bite wounds. _Oh Kami, oh Kami, oh Kami! This can't be happening! I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening. I didn't do what I think I just did._

Kagome turned away from the sight before her, and sat with her back against the nearest tree. Hugging her knees and rocking back and forth, Kagome's mind went to pieces. She was too shocked to do anything except sit there with wide eyes, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet, trying to convince herself that that hadn't just happened.

"I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening. I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening." Kagome mumbled to herself, tears running down her face. "I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening." She could hear people approaching, but she didn't care. "I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening."

"Kagome-sama, where are you?"

"I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening. I didn't do what I think I just did. Nope, not happening."

"Kagome-chan are you alright? Kago—Miroku, Shippo, Kirara! Over here, I found her!"

Kagome looked up to see Sango running towards her, followed by Miroku, and Shippo on Kirara. _But that's impossible. I just killed them!_

"Kagome-chan! What's wrong?" Sango came running up to Kagome. She had heard Kikyo's cry and came to investigate it. When she arrived she saw that Miroku had come also, and was standing over a pile of dust. They had agreed to split up and look for Kagome; Shippo would go with Kirara, and Sango and Miroku would go by themselves.

"You can't be here!" Kagome yelled. Here face was contorted and she was crying. Her hair was all undone and she looked like she being crushed under her own grief and pain. "I just killed you! This is impossible!" She started backing away from them, like she was seeing ghosts.

"Sango," Miroku whispered, "do you have any idea what she is talking about?" "No, not a clue" Sango answered. Kagome, who had heard their whispering, pointed to an area in the forest.

"Right there! I just killed you and your bodies are right…" Kagome looked over to where she remembered their bodies laying to see nothing. "there…" They were gone without a trace. She couldn't even smell their blood.

"Kagome-sama, please tell us what you are talking about. We are at a loss." Miroku said, laying a calming hand on Kagome's shoulder. She motioned for them to sit down, then recounted everything that had happened that day. From the well not working the first time, to Kikyo's stalking her in her own time and eventual death, and finally what she _thought_ her youkai blood had made her do. When she finished, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo had looks of concern on their faces.

"That's scary, Kagome." Shippo said in a slightly quivering voice.

"I agree." Miroku said. "It seems to me that your mind is so tired and stressed, that it is starting make things up. I do not know what is happening to you, but I think it would be advisable to give Toutousai a visit, now that we aren't being attacked by youkai every hour."

"I agree. Maybe your mind is playing tricks on you. Or maybe these instincts of yours are just getting out of hand and affecting the way you think. Yes, visiting Toutousai would definitely be a good idea. Kagome-chan, do you feel up to it?" Sango asked.

Kagome just nodded with a small smile on her face and they started setting up a camp; it was getting late. _So much for three days of rest. Thanks a lot. 'Hey, don't blame your instincts; that was your fault baka. You're the one who blanked out. If it weren't for your instincts you'd be dead right now.' Well that may be so, but you're still going to Toutousai's about them. 'Feh, go ahead, he can't help. Just wait and see what happens.'_

Kagome sighed and, leaning her head back against the tree she was sitting against, fell asleep.

Kagome was at peace. The pain in her neck was gone. Was it there before? It must have been; she simply hadn't noticed it. Sometimes pains are like that. Something hurts for so long that you stop noticing it until it stops.

"The girl appears to be stabilizing." Said an unknown voice. It seemed relieved about something.

"That's good news. We almost lost her there."

_What are they talking about?_

"Let me see Kagome!"

_That sounds like Inuyasha!_

Kagome opened her eye's to see Inuyasha sitting in front of her.

"Hey, Kagome! Here, I got these for you" Inuyasha gently opened Kagome's hands and gave her a pair of prayer beads.

"Arigato Inuyasha! But aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Aren't Sango and Miroku supposed to be dead? Of course I'm alive, baka! What, you thought you could get rid of me that easily?"

"But, Miroku and Sango think I'm just going crazy. They think I'm just seeing things out of guilt."

"If I'm dead, then how are we talking?"

"I guess you have a point there Inuyasha. So where have you been for the past month? If you were alive, then why didn't you come looking for me?"

"Because I couldn't. And technically I can't right now either."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not actually here right now. My spirit is just visiting you so that I can tell you how you can see me again."

"You mean, I can actually revive you! I can get you back and see you again?"

"Feh, of course baka, what'd you think I meant? Oh yea! Before I forget, don't bother trying to see Toutousai. That old fart wouldn't know how to seal your youkai blood if he had the instructions right in front of him."

"But then, what do I do about my youkai blood?"

"Well, I suppose I could just teach you how to control it when you see me again."

"Really! Oh, arigato Inuyasha. Arigato so much! So how do I revive you?"

All of a sudden Inuyasha's face grew very serious, almost anxious. "It's easy," He put his hands on her shoulders, "all you have to do is wake up!"

"Wake up, what are you talking about? I am awake."

Kagome opened her eyes suddenly, like pulled her from her dream abruptly. _I guess it was just a dream. Maybe you are going crazy. After all, you keep dreaming of reviving him._ The though that he was really gone forever made Kagome's eyes start welling up again, but she refused to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness that would be exploited by other youkai. She clenched her fists to keep her emotions in check. But as she clenched them, she felt something in her hand. Looking down, Kagome saw the prayer beads that Inuyasha had given her in her dream.

**A/N:** Yes, I am very mean. But I hope you all enjoyed this chapter all the same. To those of you who were offended by the graphicness of this chapter, I'm sorry, and Ipromise this is the only chapter like that. To those of you who enjoy that sort of thing...you're welcome. But in all seriousness, I am very proud of this chapter (you would have to read it in its unedited form to understand; the improvement is phenomonal). The next few chapters will be mostly action, so if you like that, review and you'll get it sooner. Also, I will be moving into my college dorm tomorrow, and all next week I have band camp. So if a new chapter isn't posted imediatly after the reviews are in, don't worry. It will be coming shortly. Wish me luck at college!

**Preview Chapter 5, The Second Coming:**

"Kagome-sama, how is this possible? We all saw Inuyasha die. Unless he is a ghost or a specter of some sort, there is now way that you could have seen him." Miroku reasoned. It sounded just too crazy to be true.

"Houshi-sama is right Kagome. It just isn't possible. You've been under a lot of stress and guilt lately; maybe you imagined it?" Sango stated. She looked to Miroku for his support, but before he could agree, Kagome spoke up.

"It's true! I just had a dream. In it, Inuyasha told me that he wasn't dead and gave me some prayer beads for support. Then when I woke up I still had them in my hands! See?" Kagome pulled out the beads and showed them to the others. Miroku and Sango glanced at each other, but Shippo was the first to say anything.

"What are you talking about Kagome? Those are the prayer beads you've always had." Shippo said. Sango and Miroku nodded their heads and Kirara meowed in agreement. Kagome was starting to freak out. How could they say that? Was this some kind of sick joke of theirs? Her joy was quickly evaporating and doubt and fear were starting to replace it. As well as a felling of helpless confusion, the kind that makes you want to just curl up into yourself, plug your ears, and cry until it all went away. First the cave, now this! What was going on!

**pua lahi lahi:** Thanks for the compliment! Once again I'm glad to have pleased you. And as you can probably tell from what happened, I don't like Kikyo all that much either (stupid clay pot). And just a heads up, the story is about to get _really_ confusing...even for this story. Just take note of everything that's going on and excuse me for the crappy temporary answers given. Just a heads up

**SlummyRedDragon:** Your welcome.

**inuyasha-backslashwave:** Well, at least Inuyasha made _an _appearence this chapter, even if it wasn't what you were hoping for. And it's good to know that you like me that much! I'm flattered.

Until next time,

Akuhonou Ryuu


	6. The Second Coming

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Hiraikotsu: flying bone

Houshi: a low rank of Buddhist monk; often a wandering one, with combat training

Taijiya: demon slayer

Kazaana: air void or wind tunnel

Youki: the aura that youkai give off (like what Inuyasha sees when he first starts using the wind scar)

Kami: god, deity or a spirit of nature

**Chapter 5: The Second Coming **

Kagome bolted straight up and ran out of the cave she was in to find Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Shippo. _Wait, weren't you under a tree when you fell asleep? Oh well. You need to find the others!_ Kagome ran through the forest wondering how she could have gotten so far away from here friends. Though at the moment she didn't care; Inuyasha was alive somehow, somewhere, and he was contacting her through her dreams. And now she had proof!

The sun was setting low on the horizon, creating a brilliant display of fire red and orange. So beautiful, and yet no one could see it, for it was hidden behind the approaching storm. Dark clouds where forming, blocking out the sun and casting an omniscient feeling of impending doom and darkness upon the land. Evil seemed to be lurking behind every tree, under each rock, but Kagome didn't care or notice. She was too high on excitement to be prepared for what was about to happen.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, but were actually only a few minutes of running, Kagome could see her pack. They were all sitting around a campfire, in spite of the coming storm, and where watching Shippo amuse them with his fox-magic. Kagome let herself smile at his antics. After all, his smiles and laughter had been what was keeping her going for the past month. With the constant attacks and the supposed death of Inuyasha, there had been a cloud of despair and depression hanging over the group. Sango would clean and sharpen her Hiraikotsu, isolating herself from everyone. The depression of her master made Kirara sad and short tempered, and she ceased to be her normal cuddly self, letting only Sango touch her. Miroku had stopped being a lecher and stopped smiling and telling jokes. He would simply stare at the fire, or the sky, or some empty body and think, tuning out everything and everyone around him. Seeing the houshi with that far-off, depressed and sad look in his eyes tore at Kagome's heart. Kagome, when she wasn't defending, bandaging, or feeding the others, was brooding and thinking about what had happened to her; Inuyasha's death, her family's rejection of her, Kaede's death, the fact that her world seemed to be falling apart. Also affected by the mood was Shippo, but his child-like innocence and his antics never failed to put a smile on his friends' faces. Although they never told him, Shippo was the person who was keeping the others going and stopped everyone from caving in on themselves. Kagome couldn't imagine what they would do without him right now.

"Hey guys!" Kagome shouted now that she was within hearing range. Shippo stopped his trick and everyone turned to meet Kagome's approaching gaze. "Guess what I just found out! Inuyasha's still alive!" Four sets of dinner plate-shaped eyes met Kagome's, and she slowed down to a halt right in front of them. Kagome was certain that if she had a tail, it would be wagging right now.

"Kagome-sama, how is this possible? We all saw Inuyasha die. Unless he is a ghost or a specter of some sort, there is now way that you could have seen him." Miroku reasoned. It sounded just too crazy to be true.

"Houshi-sama is right Kagome. It just isn't possible. You've been under a lot of stress and guilt lately; maybe you imagined it?" Sango stated. She looked to Miroku for his support, but before he could agree, Kagome spoke up.

"It's true! I just had a dream. In it, Inuyasha told me that he wasn't dead and gave me some prayer beads for support. Then when I woke up I still had them in my hands! See?" Kagome pulled out the beads and showed them to the others. Miroku and Sango glanced at each other, but Shippo was the first to say anything.

"What are you talking about Kagome? Those are the prayer beads you've always had." Shippo said. Sango and Miroku nodded their heads and Kirara meowed in agreement. Kagome was starting to freak out. How could they say that? Was this some kind of sick joke of theirs? Her joy was quickly evaporating and doubt and fear were starting to replace it. As well as a felling of helpless confusion, the kind that makes you want to just curl up into yourself, plug your ears, and cry until it all went away. First the cave, now this! What was going on!

"What are you talking about? I've never had any prayer beads before! Is this some sort of sick joke or something? Because if it is, it isn't funny." Kagome said that with a voice shaking in fear and laced with confusion.

"No Kagome-chan," Sango tried to comfort, "you have had those prayer beads for as long as I've known you. With all the fighting and worrying you've been doing lately, you must have forgotten about them."

"But…I never…I mean, I don't remember…how could…what's…" Kagome started to tear up as her confusion got the better of her. Her body ached, she had a headache, she was tired, and she had an immense pain in her neck. Kagome slid to the ground in tears when a crash of thunder followed by a blow to her back made her scramble to her feet.

"Heh, heh, heh, you poor foolish girl. Don't you realize that your guilt for letting Inuyasha die has been driving you crazy? But I guess you do have every right to feel guilty, in fact you _should_ feel guilty. After all, you did let him die. You failed him and now he's dead and so is Kaede, all because of you! It's all, your, fault." The familiar venomous voice sent shivers down Kagome's and stung her heart.

Trying to stop the tears that were welling up in her eyes, Kagome turned around to see what the others had been staring at in shock and fear for the past few moments: Naraku, with a cold smile on his face.

"What's wrong? Aren't you all happy to see me? I know I'm just _dieing_ to see you." Naraku spoke with a cold, mocking voice.

CRASH!

A flash of lightening and Naraku had disappeared. Kagome's eyes widened in fear as she backed away from where Naraku had just been, along with the others. She didn't need to see the others to know that they were just as afraid as she was. The sent of fear was rolling off of them like water and she could hear their hearts racing and pounding against their chests. Shippo was whimpering in fear and Kirara transformed into her bigger self.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Naraku's chilling, mocking laugh filled the air and seemed to come from everywhere in the forest at once. But try as they might, no one could find where the sinister demon was hiding.

Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara made a circle, with their backs to the center and Shippo in the middle, and each one readied their attacks. Miroku gripped his prayer beads, Sango readied her Hiraikotsu, Kagome flexed her claws, and Kirara barred her fangs. There was no way Naraku would sneak up on them, even though they all were trembling in fear. There was an uneasy silence in the air.

CRASH!

The lightning made everyone jump, and right when the flash of light seceded one of Naraku's tentacles shot down from above the groups circle and grabbed Sango by the neck and hoisted her into the air. Pain was clearly written on her contorted face and all anyone could do was watch, frozen with fear and disbelief that this could be happening, as the tentacle strangled the taijiya. Kagome tried to move, but her the message from her brain wasn't reaching her legs; try as she might, Kagome couldn't move. With Sango's face turning a sickening pale-blue and her arms flailing about, desperately trying to defend herself against the Naraku, a second tentacle came from the right side of the surrounding woods. The new addition promptly wrapped around Sango's flailing arms and squeezed them together, until a sickening crack was heard and Sango let out a mumbled scream.

CRASH!

Another flash of lightening and the second tentacle disappeared into nothing, just like Naraku had. Sango was once again tangling by her neck from the first tentacle, but now her arms were black and blue, and bent in several places besides the joints, at angles an arm was never meant to be bent. Sango let out another muffled cry and proceeded to cough up blood from her mouth. The tentacle then threw her away, where she hit her back against a tree, screamed in anguish and pain, and fell to the ground unconscious. The look on Sango's face snapped the others out of their shock. Blood was flowing in a stream out either side of her mouth, her neck was bruised all over, her arms lay at her side, limp, broken and bruised as before, and a look of uttermost pain and anguish filled her unconscious purple face. She didn't smell like death yet, so Kagome knew her life wasn't in danger, but now she was p.o.ed. _'Anger! Rage!'_

There was another flash of lightening followed by the roar of thunder. Rain started to pour from the clouds and through the roof of the forest, and Naraku fell from the sky, laughing at the scene he saw before him. Shippo was crying on the ground, shaking in fear and sadness, Kirara was simultaneously trying to comfort the kitsune brat and comfort her defeated master, Kagome was growling with downcast eyes, and the houshi was shaking with rage, glaring at Naraku

Miroku took one look at Sango and went into a blind rage. He knew it wasn't wise to get angry in a battle with Naraku (it's what he wants) but right now he didn't care. All he knew right now was that Sango was hurt, and he would make Naraku pay with his life, even if it cost Miroku his.

As Naraku fell down through the trees, Miroku grabbed his prayer beads

"NARAKU! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS, I SWEAR! DIE YOU BASTARD!" Miroku yelled this with all the strength, anger, and sorrow in his heart, and opened his kazaana, just as Naraku was landing. A huge wind started to blow and suck everything towards Miroku's wind tunnel, including Naraku himself. Miroku watched with a smirk as Naraku disappeared into the depths of his kazaana, and when he had completely disappeared Miroku closed the curse with a smile. But as he was about to walk away, he felt an unfortunately familiar feeling of an electrical jolt and red hot fire spreading from his kazaana.

"What's the matter Houshi? Not feeling well?" Miroku froze in pain and fear. He turned around to see Naraku standing right in front of him! But that was impossible; he had just sucked Naraku up! With fear and confusion in his heart and pain on his face, Miroku collapsed to the ground and fell unconscious from the poison in his hand.

"Kirara! Protect Shippo!" Kagome ordered.

She couldn't believe this! I only a few minutes Naraku had taken out two of the most vital members in her pack, mocked them while doing it, and to top it off, she didn't stop it either! She was letting it happen again! She couldn't let it happen again, she had to do something! Images of Inuyasha's bloody body lying on the ground and Kaede's death replayed over and over again in her mind as she clutched her head, trying to make it go away. Her emotions were running wild again: pain, sadness, anger, grief, confusion, horror, anger, pain, sorrow, and anger; anger at Naraku for hurting her pack, anger at her parents and the villagers for abandoning her, anger at Sango and Miroku for not being able to defend themselves, but most of all, anger at herself for being too weak to defend anyone. She wouldn't let it happen again. She _couldn't_ let it happen again. With anger and determination in her heart, Kagome leapt toward the laughing figure of Naraku.

CRASH!

Another bolt of lightening and Naraku disappeared, right as Kagome's claws would have struck him.

CRASH!

Naraku was right behind her and attacking her with his arm-turned-tentacle. Kagome dodged to the right and swiped at it with her claws but the tentacle disappeared again!

_HOW IS THIS HAPPENING? IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE FOR HIM TO DISSAPEAR LIKE THAT! HOW DOES HE DO IT?_

Kagome looked around and sniffed the air, trying to find some clue as to where Naraku was hiding. _If he's invisible then the rain should have an area where it doesn't hit the ground._ Kagome looked around, but there was nowhere that was like that, nor could she smell him anywhere. It was like he had never even been there! Kagome was starting to get that feeling of fear again. That primal fear that makes you forget yourself and everything you are, and your only thought is how can you get away from it. Just like when she saw Kikyo in her world.

Kagome was getting cold from the rain and frustrated because of how much it was dulling her senses of smell and hearing. She looked around frantically, trying to find where he would strike from next. _That coward isn't fighting me; he's playing hide-and-seek with me! Striking and running._ Kagome's movements became more sharp and anxious as she twisted her head and body in every direction, frantically trying to find Naraku. She had to! She must, or else another one of her friends would die because of her!

CRASH!

Kagome could feel a tentacle digging into her back. Electric jolts flowed up her spine as Naraku tore through nerves and muscles. She dove forward in an attempt to rip her body away from the source of her pain, but it flung her back and she remained captive of it. Finally Kagome moved the pain to the back of her mind, spun around in spite of the burning that it caused her, and ripped her claws through the tentacle, but it disappeared before she got the chance. Kagome collapsed to her hand and knees in the mud. The rain was stinging the hole in her back, but that wasn't what concerned her. When the tentacle had been in her back, she had felt her strength draining from her into the tentacle, almost like Naraku had been drinking her youki through a straw. And that stupid lightening! Every time Naraku attacked she couldn't defend herself as well because it both startled her and burned her ears. If she could at least predict when he would attack. WAIT! THAT'S IT! Naraku was attacking with the lightening!

Kagome closed her eyes and listened intently. She used her youkai senses to pick up the electrical charge in the earth and sky. She could feel the positives and negatives building up and tensed her muscles.

CRASH!

Kagome leapt to the left and started running behind her, right as Naraku's tentacle shot by her.

"HA! Got you, you bastard!" Kagome laughed in triumph as she sped toward the direction of the tentacles source.

"Hm hm hm hm hmm. Is that so?" Naraku's venomous voice mocked, "If you have me, then what do _I_ have?"

Kagome halted her movement and looked back to see where the tentacle had gone. Shaking in fear, Kagome followed it with her eyes to see that at the end of Naraku's tentacle, he had speared both Kirara and Shippo.

"NO! KIRARA! SHIPPO! Oh Kami, no! NO! Kagome's eyes filled up with tears as she raced towards her two friends. Please no, Please no, Please no! Don't let this be happening! Oh Kami, don't let them die! Please! Don't let me be too late. But in spite her worst fears and best efforts, she couldn't reach them in time. Not to save their lives, but to save them from Naraku. As Kagome sped forward, she watched in horror as the tentacle spread over them, enveloping them into Naraku.

Kagome slowed to a halt and sunk to her knees when she saw the tentacle that contained her friends slowly drain their life-force and youki. She couldn't believe it. She had failed them. Shock and disbelief were permanently glued to her face, and her mind went to pieces. All she could was kneel there, with the rain pouring over her body, staring at where Shippo and Kirara were a moment ago. She was too sad to cry, to shocked to think, and too weak to move.

"Mmmm, that was a delicious snack" Naraku said smugly in victory. Then he shot another tentacle into Kagome's back again. "But I think that you will be much better."

Kagome could feel her energy and life draining away from her body, but she didn't care anymore. She had failed everyone. She didn't want to go on anymore, she didn't want to fight. In that moment, Kagome had lost the will to live. Living was too hard anyways. Living meant fighting, meant loosing friends and family, giving up your boyfriend, being forced to gather pieces of a jewel that had broken because you were too careless. It meant leaving your old life behind to pursue a new and dangerous (not to mention gross) one, then loosing it all when your best friend dies on you. Living was just too hard without a friend to talk to, a shoulder to cry on, a person to confide in, to live with, to laugh with, to love with. Kagome didn't have that anymore, so she just gave up. It was just too hard.

But as Kagome slipped into darkness, her barely-working senses picked up a familiar sent."

"Get you hands offa _my_ Kagome! Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

**A/N:** First off, I would like to apologize for not updating until now. I recently moved into my dorm room, and the entire campus was having a server error, which means there was no phone and no internet.

But I'm back, and so is my story. I am pleasantly surprised at the number I reviews I got this time and will be rewarding you by creating one chapter after the epilogue that answers all the questions that you might still have (talking in Eeyore's voice I bet you're ecstatic. I sure do know how to make a reward.) I'm still ecstatic that so many people are reading and enjoying my story! I hope you guys like the last few chapters.

**Chapter Preview-Off the Edge of Despair: **

Kagome walked over to Inuyasha's grave and examined it. _It looks so different. Like something has been moving around in there._ But once again she didn't care. Kagome carefully dug up Inuyasha's grave and pulled his body out. Funny, after over a month in the ground he still looks like he's alive. Silver hair and all. _Wait, didn't he turn full human when he died? Oh well._

With that, Kagome stuck the jewel shard into Inuyasha's neck and, reaching into the pool of power she once again stored, used the jewel as both an amplifier for her power and an anchor for his soul, attempting to revive Inuyasha. _If Naraku can do it, then so can you!_ With a final burst of energy and pink light, Kagome watched as a white glowing orb flew into Inuyasha, and was rewarded by hearing his first breath.

"Ka…go…me?" Inuyasha pushed out breathily.

**inuyasha-backlashwave**I'm glad you liked that. It was really challenging to write, but it was worth it. And thanks for the well wishes.

**SlummyRedDragon:** I thought so too!

**kikyo618543** I know; one of the reasons I wrote this fic was that I was tired of authors afraid to put realistic violence in their stories. And no, she didn't remove the prayer beads.

**Pua lahi lahi:** Don't worry, just a few more chapters and all will be revealed. Also I hope you're right, about college (my major is biomedical engineering. Enough said) And thanks for your faith. Yeah, that was the one thing I worried about the most, was whether or not people would trust me with that OOC.

**Kyomi:** Is Inuyasha _really_ dead? That's one of the "big questions" in my story. On one hand, everyone saw him die, but on the other hand, how is he communicating with Kagome?

**Ouka-Chan77**Heh, heh, heh. I have a tendency to do that (I'm evil like that)

Until next time,

Akuhonou Ryuu


	7. Off the Edge of Despair

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Kami: god, deity or a spirit of nature

Baka: stupid/idiot

Hanyou: half demon

Houriki: Power of Bubba. What houshi's and other monks use to perform exorcisms, sense youki, use magic, etc.

Taijiya: demon slayer

Shikon no Tama: Jewel of four souls

Miko: Shinto (Japanese religion) priestess

Arigato: thank you

Inukkoro: dog-face/dog turd

Yokata: thank goodness

Bouzo: an insulting term for a Buddhist priest

**Chapter 6: Off the Edge of Despair**

"Get you hands offa _my_ Kagome! Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

_Inuyasha? Is that really you?_

Kagome could hear the tentacle that was in her being torn to pieces, and felt strong warm hands pick her up and carry her to safety. Now that the tentacle was gone and her energy was no longer being drained, Kagome's body was able to slowly heal itself. The first thing she noticed was that she could hear trees rushing past her, and that the rain had stopped. Next her sense of smell regained its strength and she was able to take a good whiff of the person who had rescued her. She breathed in through her nose expecting to smell Inuyasha's sent, but was simultaneously let down and slightly worried when she realized by smell that this person wasn't Inuyasha. She didn't know who it was, but they smelt slightly familiar.

_Hmm, forests and meadows, where have you smelt that before?_

'_Danger! You are in a great danger right now. I'm telling you, this is a bad smell!'_

_Danger? How can that be? This person just rescued you, how is that dangerous! Plus he smells familiar._

'_Yeah, but his smell is also threatening! Emotions aren't something you're used to yet Kagome and you need to trust your instincts. Especially in a vulnerable state like this!'_

Kagome tried to open her eyes, but they were very heavy. After a few seconds of straining, she was able to start pulling them open, slowly but steadily. Her vision was blurry for a few seconds and she couldn't see much except for a brown and black blur above her, and green and dark blue blurs surrounding her.

"Kagome! You're finally awake! I was so worried that inukkoro had let you get hurt! Heh, guess I was right too. I knew that weakling wouldn't be able to protect my Kagome."

"Kouga? Is that you?" Kagome's vision started clearing up and was shocked to find that the person carrying her was indeed Kouga. Trying to block out what he had said about Inuyasha and what her instincts were telling her, Kagome let herself feel a bit of relief that Kouga was here. She had completely forgotten about her friendship with him! Kouga was very sweet and a strong fighter. If the two of them worked together, they could defeat Naraku and start a pack together! After all, he was all she had left to go to. Sure, it would take a lot of time for her heart to heal, but Kouga was very sweet and understanding with her, and she was sure that he would help her. It looked like everything would be alright after all.

"Kagome," Kouga stopped running. He sounded very serious, almost threatening. "why do you smell like that mutt?" Kagome could hear a deep growl vibrating in his throat and his voice starting to shake with fury as he tried to control himself.

"Well…"

"And why do you have dog-ears?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Let me explain, you see…"

"EXPLAIN WHAT?" Kouga had snapped. He dropped Kagome and she flinched away from him.

"Explain why you smell like that baka mutt? Or explain why you're a hanyou?" The last word was practically spit out as Kouga towered over Kagome's shaking figure. Why was he reacting like this? This wasn't the Kouga Kagome knew. Kagome could feel the tears that had failed to come before start welling up in her eyes. She was scared, her neck hurt really bad, and she could smell and feel hate and disgust pouring off of Kouga.

"I know exactly what you did! You let that _mutt_ become your _mate_, didn't you, you slut? I can't believe I saved my love for a piece of trash like you! You disgust me!" Kouga's words were dripping with hatred as he yelled at Kagome, who had started to cry. Why was he doing this? Couldn't he see the pain she was already in? The pain he was causing her?

"Kouga, you don't understand!" Kagome pleaded. She was crying full force now and was shaking in sorrow and fear.

"Save it you hanyou piece of dirt!" Kouga kicked Kagome in the stomach and spit on her.

"I outta kill you right now you wench, but it wouldn't be worth the strength. I regret ever saving you. You're so weak you couldn't even save your own friends from their dooms. I don't know what I ever saw in you." Kagome was shaking on the ground, a river of tears pouring from her eyes as she sobbed. To make his disgust cleared, Kouga reached down and grabbed Kagome by the hair, dragged her up, and slapped her face so hard it knocked her to the ground.

"I never want to see your filthy hanyou face again. Do I make myself clear, slut? I hate you." Each of the last three words he said were slower than the last and dripping with malice. With a final kick and spit, Kouga ran over Kagome and away from her, out of her life forever.

Kagome, bruised beaten and weak, gathered herself into a ball and did the only thing she had the strength to do. She cried bitterly. The last month had completely destroyed everything she thought she knew about her family and friends. Now, she had nothing left. The only person she knew in either era was Sesshomaru, and being both a hanyou and friends with his hated brother weren't exactly good ways to get on his good side.

Kagome cried out in sorrow and regret all night. She didn't know how many times she apologized to her friends for failing them. The weight of her grief pushed Kagome's heart into her stomach and she cried out in sorrow. _So this is what it was like to be Inuyasha when he was growing up. Having no one in a world that loves you. If you have to live like he did, then you'll probably end up with as many emotional problems as he had. Oh, Inuyasha. I miss you so much._

'_Bad move Kagome, thinking about Inuyasha. The only thing emotions will do for you right now is make you weak and an easy target. The only reason Inuyasha survived as long as he did was because he suppressed his emotions. Think about it; how may adult hanyous do you see walking around? None! Because they all get killed off at an early age because they let their emotions get the better of them. In order to survive now, you must be very smart and very alert, or you will die.'_

_Maybe you want to die; maybe you just want it all to end._

'_How can you say that? Your pack sacrificed their lives to save you, and you are willing to just give up and make their sacrifices vain? I can't believe you would even _dare_ to think that way!'_

Now Kagome felt even worse than she had. She couldn't give up because her friends would be rolling in their graves, and she couldn't go on because it was too hard. Eventually, after crying for what seemed like an eternity without her friends, Kagome fell into a fitful sleep.

"We're…-r!"

"Quick…and fill…need to counteract…"

"…Kagome…"

"…of here! You're…and won't…"

The voices continued to fade in and out like that in her dream. Sometimes they were anxious, sometimes they were encouraging, but they always sounded distant and cold.

scene change

"Kagome-chan! Where are you?" The voice almost sounded familiar and worried, but that wasn't possible. Nobody knew her or cared about her anymore.

"Kagome-sama! Please, if you're alive answer us!" Another familiar voice. Her mind must be playing tricks on her. There's no way it's possible, no way. No way at all.

"Oh Houshi-sama, I hope she's alright." _Sango?_

"I know, Sango, I know. She is probably just resting somewhere to regain her strength. That's all. You need not fear." _Miroku?_

"You're right. We just need to look harder."

_But, but that's impossible, they're dead!_

'_groan You baka! Neither of them had the stench of death on them, remember? They both must've survived somehow!'_

_That's right! Why didn't you realize it sooner?_

"Sango-chan, Miroku-sama? Is that you?" Kagome wiped her eyes and felt her spirits rising in anticipation. The fact that she might have been wrong about their deaths was like a light to her world. It wasn't a big light but it helped, like a candle. The candle itself wasn't very bright, but compared to the darkness of the surrounding storm, it made all the difference; lighting up the path, just enough so that you don't trip.

"KAGOME-CHAN! Oh thank Kami you're all right!" Sango ran in the direction that she heard Kagome's voice and was mowed over with a hug by her overjoyed inu-hanyou friend. Rolling on the ground, she was almost giggling in glee as she returned Kagome's hug.

"Lady Kagome! Yokata, it is good to see you alive. Sango and I have been searching for you four hours!" Miroku greeted as he walked up with a huge smile on his face.

"Yes. I'm so happy you two are all right!" Kagome didn't bother hiding her tears this time; they were tears of joy and relief after all, and those types of tears aren't meant to be healed back. But in spite of this small bit of joy in her otherwise crushingly depressing world, Kagome couldn't help but wonder if this was real, or just another dream.

"But Miroku," Kagome decided to test, "how did you guys survive Naraku's attack? And how are your wounds healed?" Kagome wanted to make sure that this was real for once.

"Well," Miroku started, "as it tunes out, Myouga-sama had been there the entire time, watching us. As soon as Naraku left the battle ground, Myouga-sama promptly hopped over to me and sucked out much of the poison that I had somehow sucked up in Naraku's place. When I was able to move again I went over to Sango and used my houriki to heal her. After that Myouga-sama said he had some business to attend to and left."

"But Miroku-sama, how was Naraku able to do that" Kagome asked. "How did he avoid your Kazaana and how was he able to move like that; it was like he was disappearing and reappearing!" Kagome's voice shook slightly as she remembered what had happened that night. It sent shivers up her spine and made her skin crawl

"I wish I knew Kagome-sama, I truly wish I knew." Came Miroku's apologetic answer. The three of them grew very quiet and serious as the weight of their lack of knowledge came down on their uneasy minds. How could they defeat someone if they didn't even know how to touch him, let alone hurt him. But thinking about it right now wasn't helping anything and it was breaking their rare moment of peacefulness, so Sango decided to break the silence and talk about something she hoped would return them to their bliss.

"So Kagome," Sango began, "where are Shippo and Kirara?" Whatever Sango had expected for an answer, she didn't get it. Kagome's face went immediately blank, the kind of blank that reflects emotions through the eyes. Kagome's eyes were looking off in the distance, liked she was seeing something that only she could see, and it was making her sad. Her eyes were full of so much pain and so much sadness, the taijiya was amazed that her entire soul didn't spill out of them, swept out with the river of tears that she could see forming.

"Naraku…assimilated them" Kagome answered in barely a whisper as tears started to fall from her now downcast head. "I wasn't strong enough to save them…I tried, but not hard enough…I'm just too weak…too weak to save you guys, too weak to save Inuyasha, too weak to save Kaede, or Shippo, or Kirara…I'm just too…damn…weak…" Kagome sobbed bitterly as she spoke, while tears were pouring out of her eyes and her soul was pouring out of her mouth. "and what's worse…I almost lost you guys…you're all I have left, and I couldn't save you…I'm just a filthy, good-for-nothing hanyou…Kouga told me I was lower than dirt…and he's right! I couldn't save you and you almost died! I DID NOTHING!" Kagome could no longer speak as her crying and weeping took all her strength. All her pain and guilt overflowed over her dam of emotions and poured out through her eyes. Sango and Miroku simply gave their distressing friend a comforting hug. They both knew what it was like to be helpless to save their loved ones, and they also knew that there wasn't much they could do to comfort her.

Kagome cried until she passed out with exhaust, much like Shippo had the night Inuyasha died. When she revived, by and unspoken agreement, the three of them walked to field where Inuyasha had been buried. It only took them a few hours to make it there, since that's where they had been heading in the first place. The entire trip over had been in silence, with only the sounds of their foot falls reaching their ears. It seemed as though all of nature recognized their solemn march and stayed quiet for them. Not even the wind blew. The clouds from the previous nights storm where starting to break up, but all they left behind was a sheet of grey.

When Kagome and the others arrived at the sight, they wordlessly started to make 3 new graves. One to honor Kaede, one to honor Kirara, and one to honor Shippo. The work took them until sunset, and Sango and Miroku decided to let Kagome finish up the graves and went to sleep. Emotional stress had taken its toll on their bodies and they needed a good nights sleep before they would be able to figure out what to do next.

Kagome spent an hour just staring at the graves, reminiscing on all the times they had shared together. After she was done shedding her tears, she put the markers on their graves. On Kaede's she put the bow and quiver that Kaede had given her. On Shippo's grave she placed the top he liked to use for his kitsune magic. And for Kirara Kagome placed the katana the Sango carried with her. When she was done with her task, Kagome felt sleep start to over take her. she was glad too, because being awake was too hard and too painful right now, physically and emotionally. But as she was falling asleep, Kagome felt a pain in her neck. She tried to ignore it but it just wouldn't go away.

After probably 10 minutes of this weird pain, Kagome realized that it was a shard of the Shikon no Tama! _But that's impossible! Naraku had taken all you shards, and besides that you lost all you miko powers when you became a hanyou. What's going on!_

Kagome opened her eyes and was shocked to see that everything was dark. Not the 'oh it's night time' dark she was used to, but a dark she hadn't known since the last time she was fully human. Not only that, but she felt like she couldn't hear or smell anything! That's an extremely dangerous thing for a hanyou; your sense of smell is what tells you everything about everything: gender, hostility, identity, location, emotion, without it, Kagome felt like she was blind. She stood up but fell against a tree. Her sense of balance was off too! _What's going on? Please tell me!_ When she didn't get an answer from her instincts, Kagome looked down to see normal human hands.

_Oh yeah, that's right! Hanyous have a night once a month when they turn human. But wait, if you have a human night, then why is it that this is the first time you've had one in _over_ a month?_

A sharp jolt to her neck brought Kagome out of her thoughts. Because she was a human right now, she must have regained her miko powers. That's why she could feel the presence of the Shikon no Tama. but something about it was, off…different than any other time she had felt it before. It almost felt like she was sensing the whole Shikon no Tama, and not just a shard of it. Maybe it was more powerful than the other shards, like the core one or something. Then Kagome got an idea. She didn't care how she had a shard in her neck, or why it felt complete, but she knew exactly what she was going to do with it.

Kagome took a sharp rock she found nearby on the ground, and dug it into her neck. Using it as a leaver, Kagome pushed the shard out of her neck and into her hand. That didn't stop the pain in her neck like she expected it to, but she didn't care right now. Kagome walked over to Inuyasha's grave and examined it. _It looks so different. Like something has been moving around in there._ But once again she didn't care. Kagome carefully dug up Inuyasha's grave and pulled his body out. Funny, after over a month in the ground he still looks like he's alive. Silver hair and all. _Wait, didn't he turn full human when he died? Oh well._

With that, Kagome stuck the jewel shard into Inuyasha's neck and, reaching into the pool of power she once again stored, used the jewel as both an amplifier for her power and an anchor for his soul, attempting to revive Inuyasha. _If Naraku can do it, then so can you!_ With a final burst of energy and pink light, Kagome watched as a white glowing orb flew into Inuyasha, and was rewarded by hearing his first breath.

"Ka…go…me?" Inuyasha pushed out breathily.

"Oh, Inuyasha! I missed you so much!" Kagome wrapped her arms around him and cried into his shoulder. She couldn't believe he was actually back! Now that he was alive, everything would be better.

"Kagome, what's all the yelling about? Shouldn't you be getting some…sleep?" Miroku could barely say the last word out of shock from seeing the inu-hanyou alive again. "Inuyasha?" He said in a small voice, "Is that really you?" He just couldn't believe it! Inuyasha was alive?

"No bouzu, it's not me, I'm the _other_ Inuyasha." Inuyasha said, dripping with sarcasm. "OF COUSE IT'S ME, BAKA!" _Yup, this is definitely Inuyasha._ Kagome thought happily.

"Oh, praise kami! I'll go wake Sango!" With excitement in his voice, Miroku ran to get the said taijiya.

"Inuyasha, you don't know how happy I am to see you! I think I was starting to go crazy with guilt; there were so many strange things happening." Kagome said, still hugging Inuyasha. She didn't want to let him go. She was afraid that if she let him go he might disappear.

"That's because you _are_ crazy, baka! But don't worry. Tomorrow we'll go save Shippo and Kirara from Naraku. Remember, the demons he assimilates don't die, they just get attached to him. We can still get them out."

"That's right! I completely forgot! Oh arigato Inuyasha, arigato. Now that you're alive I won't go crazy and everything will be better!"

Inuyasha's face grew grim, like he knew something she didn't.

"I hope you get the messages I'm sending you, but there's still something that you need to do before everything will get better, you have to wake up!"

"What are you talking about Inuyasha!" suddenly the implications of his words hit her full force. "No, this can't be another dream! This is real, I know it is! I can _feel_ it is! Please please please, don't be a dream!"

"Kagome, you have to wake up!" Inuyasha said again, louder this time.

"You're just having a dream! Wake up, please!" Inuyasha started to shake her.

Kagome opened her eyes and found Miroku and Sango standing over her."

"Oh thank kami!" They both sighed in relief.

**A/N:** Well, it's almost over. Just two more chapters and an epilogue, then it's done. Things are going to get even weirder from this point on, but it will all make sense soon…hopefully. Just stick with it and you will be rewarded by an awesome ending.

**Preview of Chapter 7- The Beginning of the End:**

"NARAKU YOU COWARD! ARE YOU AFRAID TO FACE ME! ARE YOU EVEN HERE?" Kagome yelled into the approaching army. Only slightly distracted by the pain in her neck, Kagome started to run towards the approaching army.

"Of course I am," came the cold reply from her left, "I just wanted your friends to have as much fun as we will. Hm hm hm hm hmm."

Kagome quickly changed directions and leapt to her left, towards the sound of his voice. He was 20 feet away and right in her path. Kagome barred her claws and stuck down towards him, but he dodged to the left and her claws hit the ground, leaving a small crater. Kagome recovered just in time to avoid an oncoming tentacle by leaping up and, through an incredible display of flexibility and agility, twisted around in mid-air and used the momentum of her leap to propel herself at Naraku.

"Iron reaver soul stealer!" Kagome cried as she fell at Naraku. Naraku pulled the tentacle back into his body, but the action slowed his reaction to Kagome's attack and it made contact with his head. Kagome landed behind him, knowing that the only thing she hit was his pesky baboon pelt. It _always_ gets destroyed before he gets hurt. Sure enough, when she turned around a second after landing he was still there, baboon skin shredded and discarded, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw.

Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku had been having troubles of their own.

**inuyasha-backlashwave** Right…Inuyasha was back this chapter…that's it. Lol Thanks for the compliment and glad you like my story. Also I know what you mean about writers block. Something that helps though, is when you're coming up with your story, write a broad outline of what happens first. That way, you always know what needs to happen to make the story progress, and the rest is filler.

**Frozen Miko:** I'll take that evil thing as a compliment. And it just goes to show you, never judge a fanfic by its description. I'm so happy you like my story, and I know you'll like the end of it. And don't worry, about the rambling thing. I do the same thing and I like to read things like that. So feel free to ramble to your hearts content. Give me your life story if you want. It might be kinda fun maybe

Until next time…

Akuhonou Ryuu


	8. The Beginning of the End

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Nani: What?

Miko: Shinto (Japanese religion) priestess

Youkai: demon

Kazaana: air void or wind tunnel

Shikon no Tama: Jewel of four souls

Hiraikotsu: Flying bone

Saimyoushou: The poison insects Naraku uses

Katana: Japanese sword

Ofuda: Strips of paper inscribed with Buddhist scriptures, used by monks in exorcism or to ward away evil.

Kitsune-bi: fox fire

Fuujin no Mai: Dance of the wind blades

Houshi: a low rank of Buddhist monk; often a wandering one, with combat training

Taijiya: Demon slayer

Shikabane Mai: Dance of the dead

Kitsune: fox/fox demon

**Chapter 7: The Beginning of the End**

"Na-nani? What's going on?" Kagome asked in confusion. _If you don't think about what just happened it won't hurt you. If you don't think about what just happened it won't hurt you._

"Oh Kagome-chan, we were so worried about you." Sango cried, throwing her arms around Kagome's neck. She seemed very out of character.

"Yes indeed. You kept on screaming and convulsing. It was horrible; we thought you might die." Miroku explained. "What was going through your head?"

"Well," Kagome started "I was dreaming about Inuyasha again." _So much for not thinking about it sigh_

'_Remember, just don't concentrate on the emotion. Keep them as under control as you can.'_

_If only you could tell what's real and what isn't. For all you know you're still asleep._

"I dreamt that I regained my miko powers and used them and a jewel shard to revive him." Kagome answered softly. She was shaking and her eyes were almost closed but she did not cry. "And what's worse; I didn't know I was asleep until I woke up. Everything has been so hectic and tragic lately that it's been driving me crazy; maybe literally. I'm so distraught inside that I'm having a hard time distinguishing between what's real and what isn't. And it doesn't help that everything around me has been acting weird. When my family rejected me, every fiber of my being told me that they weren't real. Then the villagers killed Kaede; their only priestess, healer, and protection against youkai. Not to mention the fact that it's been over a month and I still haven't had a human day; I not only saw Kikyo in my time, but saw everyone on the streets turn into her; when she attacked me she had no memory of ever being in my time and her soul-collectors were nowhere to be seen; on one of my trips through the well I felt time slip open up for me, but I didn't go anywhere; I thought I killed you guys as a demon in bloodlust but when I looked for your bodies they were gone; I have these prayer beads that you guys say I've had forever, but I have no memory of them myself; yesterday I fell asleep beneath a tree and woke up in a cave; the way Naraku was disappearing during the battle last night; Miroku, when you sucked Naraku into your Kazaana I saw Naraku go into it, but then he reappeared right behind you and you were poisoned; when Kouga saved my he used Inuyasha's attack, and then the way he treated me; I keep hearing these voices; I keep hearing Inuyasha and dreaming about him reviving; I keep hearing, feeling, and smelling him, but it always turns out to be someone else; I keep having this annoying pain in my neck;" Kagome paused to sniff the air "and for some reason, I can smell Naraku, even though Inuyasha never could because of his barrier!"

With each annoyance Kagome got louder and angrier, until at the end she was shouting; pouring out all of her frustration and anger and muting the sorrow and pain. She yelled so loud that she was blue in the face and panting for breath, while Miroku and Sango just sat there, dumbfound. They didn't know what to say; who knew Kagome was keeping so much in? She never let any of it show.

"So what are we going to do?"

Kagome didn't recognize who had said it, but pondered the question anyways.

"I don't know…" she admitted "I can't sense the Shikon no Tama anymore, so we can't jewel hunt like we used to. Not only that, but our list of allies is getting smaller by the day. If we don't defeat Naraku soon, we might not be able to at all."

"I supposed all we can do is wait and see what happens." Another unknown voice, but where was it coming from? It seemed to be from every direction at once. I Kagome tried to tack its source it would prove to be near impossible. But Miroku and Sango didn't seem to hear the voices; only Kagome. They did, however, hear what Kagome had said.

"Well," Sango answered, "I suppose we had better go after Naraku then."

"Sango is right." Miroku continued. "Naraku has most of the Shikon no Tama in his possession. If we defeat him now while we still have a chance, then not only will our greatest opponent be gone, but we will acquire his shards and need only to hunt down the remaining few."

Kagome had to admit it sounded like a good plan. Kill two birds with one stone and possibly get Shippo and Kirara back. "Ok then! Time to get Naraku, once and for all!" Kagome declared. Picking up his sent, Kagome sped off towards the east where Naraku's rancid smell was coming from, tailed closely by Miroku and Sango.

After an hour of running, Kagome and the others came to the outskirts of a village. The smell of miasma was everywhere. Naraku was here…somewhere. But where? By an unspoken command, the three warriors split up to search for Naraku. Kagome went left to check the perimeter of the village while Sango and Miroku searched the interior.

Everything was quiet. Not a soul could be seen and it was a very unsettling feeling. After half an hour of searching the village, Miroku and Sango ran into each other.

"Any luck Sango?"

"No, and there doesn't seem to be anyone here either."

The pair were about to search for Kagome, when the previously light sky suddenly darkened with the approach of demons.

"He's here!" They said in unison, both with a mixture of anxiousness, dread, and fear in their voices.

Sango readied her Hiraikotsu and Miroku gripped the prayer beads for his kazaana. Neither could see the enemy but both could hear the marching sound that approached them. No, not marching, more like a unified slithering. Then, on the horizon, they saw Naraku; clad in a white baboon pelt. Then a second Naraku appeared, and a third, a fourth, a dozen, twenty, fifty, a hundred!

Meanwhile Kagome was similarly watching the approaching mass of baboon pelts. _'Bastard! He brought an entire army of his puppets!'_

"NARAKU YOU COWARD! ARE YOU AFRAID TO FACE ME! ARE YOU EVEN HERE?" Kagome yelled into the approaching army. Only slightly distracted by the pain in her neck, Kagome started to run towards the approaching army.

"Of course I am," came the cold reply from her left, "I just wanted your friends to have as much fun as we will. Hm hm hm hm hmm."

Kagome quickly changed directions and leapt to her left, towards the sound of his voice. He was 20 feet away and right in her path. Kagome barred her claws and stuck down towards him, but he dodged to the left and her claws hit the ground, leaving a small crater. Kagome recovered just in time to avoid an oncoming tentacle by leaping up and, through an incredible display of flexibility and agility, twisted around in mid-air and used the momentum of her leap to propel herself at Naraku.

"Iron reaver soul stealer!" Kagome cried as she fell at Naraku. Naraku pulled the tentacle back into his body, but the action slowed his reaction to Kagome's attack and it made contact with his head. Kagome landed behind him, knowing that the only thing she hit was his pesky baboon pelt. It _always_ gets destroyed before he gets hurt. Sure enough, when she turned around a second after landing he was still there, baboon skin shredded and discarded, but she wasn't prepared for what she saw.

Meanwhile, Sango and Miroku had been having troubles of their own. Plain and simple, they were outnumbered. Initially, Miroku had taken out a good quarter of them with his kazaana while Sango used her boomerang to slice through others. But before long the saimyoushou appeared, thus disabling the pair's only crippling weapon to the enemy. Now they had to fight hand-to-hand, and while a quarter of the puppets were gone, three quarters still remained; thus there were a good 750 puppets left, each one with considerable strength.

Sango and Miroku were fighting back to back, defending themselves and each other. The puppets would attack them in groups of no less than 10 at a time, sending a barrage of tentacles at Sango and Miroku. Sango would block them by ducking behind Hiraikotsu and Miroku behind a cross of his staff and a small barrier that he was able to produce, then the pair would retaliate, Sango throwing her boomerang, taking out 5 or 6 and defending with her spare katana, and Miroku would throw ofudas and attack with his staff, and then they would defend as ten or more puppets attacked. But for every 5 that attacked, one would sneak past their defenses and injure a leg, or an arm, or a knee or stomach or chest, or any other part of their tired bodies. And this pattern went on for an hour, while Sango's and Miroku's stamina slowly gave way, leaving even more holes in their defenses for the puppets to exploit, and getting more and more injured.

While this was happening, Kagome was tearing herself to pieces over what to do. Naraku had decided that he had taken the form of the prince Kagewaki long enough and gave himself a make-over; he looked and sounded exactly like Inuyasha.

"What's the matter Kagome? I thought you wanted to see your beloved Inuyasha again. You should be thanking me." Naraku taunted.

_How _dare_ he do this to you! Insulting Inuyasha's memory like this! You won't allow it!_

'_Anger! Rage! Fury! Kill that jerk for this!'_

Putting aside her emotions, Kagome ran the 20 feet towards Naraku.

"So you're going to kill me again are you?" Naraku taunted. Kagome was about to slash him, when he spoke and caused her heart to falter and her attack to miss. Naraku took the opportunity weaken her even more. Flanking her to the right, Naraku attacked.

"Kitsune-bi!" Naraku yelled out Shippo's attack and it hit Kagome full force. The fire itself didn't hurt her, but the fact that Naraku was using one of Shippo's attacks hit her heart like a ton of bricks and made her concentration waiver considerably.

'_Come on Kagome! Don't let your sorrow get you now, not when it matters the most!'_

_It's not really him and you can still get Shippo back. He's not really Inuyasha, just remember that; not really Inuyasha._

Kagome leapt back from Naraku and landed right as he released a tentacle from his back. Kagome used her claws to sever the limb but was disappointed to find that he regenerated it almost immediately, and had dodged to the left to avoid getting hit by the newly re-grown limb. _ Where's the miasma? Doesn't he usually release it whenever his body is punctured?_ Kagome's thoughts were interrupted by the tentacle colliding with her side and throwing her into a building.

Growling, Kagome got up and ran towards Inuyasha—no! Naraku. She tried to hit his shoulder with her claws but he dodged to the left and counter-attacked by swinging his claws upwards towards her neck. Kagome did a half a back flip and, now standing on her hands, kicked at Naraku. He blocked with his right arm and slashed with his left, but Kagome pushed herself into the air just in time to avoid the attack and, positioning herself so that she was facing his back, dug her claws successfully into the back of his shoulder.

Naraku yelled out in pain and used the momentum of the attack he used a second ago to summersault away from Kagome before pushing backwards off his hands, causing his feet to come in contact with her stomach as she charged after him. The impact knocked Kagome back 30 feet and into another building, which was completely demolished by the impact. Where were the people?

Recovering quickly, Kagome sprang forward to meet Naraku's approaching claws. The two sent a barrage of slashes, punches, and kicks at each other while simultaneously dodging the other's attacks at an incredible speed, in a very DBZ-like melee.

Every once in a while one would land an attack that the other wasn't quite quick enough to dodge, but each time the attack did minimal damage and the recovery was quick, so that not a beat of the fight was missed. It was almost like a dance the way each punch and kick and slash was timed perfectly with the dodge. Naraku would punch, Kagome would move her head to the right to avoid it while sending an upward slash with her left hand, Naraku would use the outstretched arm from the punch to block the claw and retaliate with his foot; Kagome would leap over him where she would send a dozen punches that were met by a dozen blocks from the already turned around Naraku, and all this would take place in four seconds. This whole melee took place for an hour without any give on either party, only a loss of endurance from the length of time that the fight was taking.

Miroku and Sango were having a similar problem. When the last of the dolls had been defeated, Kagura decided to make her appearance, sneaking up behind the resting pair. Using her fan as a base for her powers, Kagura used her sorcery to condense the air near her into several sickles; the air was so dense and thick that it could cut through flesh, and all the light that went through it was bent and reflected as white light. All this was done at in a single second at the command of three little words, and were spoken while Sango and Miroku gathered their strength.

"Fuujin no Mai!" Kagura shouted from behind the resting pair. Miroku and Sango, tired and unprepared as they were, were able to avoid being hit directly by the wind blades, but couldn't help being caught up in the blast and shockwave of its impact. Getting up as quickly as they could, Sango and Miroku faced their new opponent. But as they readied their attacks Kagura sent another Fuujin no Mai at them, forcing them to jump out of the way. They aimed for the back side of a building this time, hoping to stall for time. But as soon as they landed, Kagura had sent another attack at them, this one flying into and destroying the buildings in its path, including theirs. Sango and Miroku dodged together as attack after attack flew their way, giving the tired houshi and taijiya no time to attack.

"We'll be killed if we keep this up houshi-sama!" Sango yelled as she and Miroku jumped out of the way of another attack that ended up destroying more buildings. By now every house, hut, and shrine within a 20 foot radius of Kagura was in ruins.

"I know," huffed Miroku in response. He was running out of breath. "But we don't have any time to attack." The two of them were thrown back by an attack that they didn't quite dodge in time, but recovered quick enough to avoid the next attack. However, now they were separated. This gave Miroku an idea.

"Sango!" Miroku yelled as she ran towards him "Kagura can only attack one of us at a time! If we split up…"

"Way ahead of ya, Houshi-sama!" Sango yelled in response. Just as Miroku had predicted, Kagura only attacked one of them…him. Miroku dodged to the right and watched as Sango's Hiraikotsu nailed Kagura in the side, effectively knocking her to the ground. Miroku and Sango charged in for the finishing blow, but at the last moment, when the pair was a meter away, Kagura yelled a command.

"Kanna! Now!" Kagura rolled to the side revealing Kanna, mirror fixed and ready. Desperately Miroku and Sango tried to stop their attacks, but they had too much momentum and were too close to avoid hitting the mirror, and were blown back by the force of their own attacks. But that wasn't all; Kagura summoned up some wind to blow away the dirt of the battlefield and revealed an underground cage housing all the villagers, lying on the floor unconscious.

Using the power of the mirror, Kanna sucked out the souls of every villager in the cage.

"Shikabane Mai!" Kagura cried. Tendrils of power flowed from Kagura's fan into the villagers and they immediately became animated. Kagura smashed open the bamboo top, releasing her new puppets. As they crawled out of the cage, Miroku and Sango went back to back like they had before.

"Remember Sango, these villagers are still alive. We mustn't harm them." Miroku warned.

"I know, Houshi-sama. We need to take out Kagura. Let's try the same tactic as before; one of us distract her while the other attacks." Sango suggested. It wasn't like they had any other plans.

"Ok. We split on three. One…" The villagers were out of the cage. "Two…" with their weapons ready, they started to charge blindly and wildly at Miroku and Sango. "THREE!" Miroku and Sango split in opposite directions as the villagers' weapons crashed down on were they just were. All the villagers went after Miroku however, leaving Sango free to attack Kagura.

"Kagura, you die NOW! HIRAIKOTSU!" Sango yelled as she released her boomerang at Kagura. But right as it was about to hit her it was intercepted by a sickle-and-chain.

"No! Not here, not now!" Sango cried in despair.

Meanwhile, Kagome was dueling it out with Naraku. Somewhere in the melee they had ended up grabbing each other's hands, trying to overpower one another. Kagome was tired, bruised, cut, and bloody all over; Naraku was just sweaty and a little bruised and scratched. Sure she had hit him just as many times as he had hit her, but she didn't regenerate herself, he did. Eventually the shoving match was a stalemate and both of them leapt back away from each other.

"By the way, Kagome," Naraku said with a smirk, "Shippo asks why you let him down."

This caught Kagome off guard in a bad way. It broke her concentration and filled her with sadness. It was already hard enough on her to suppress her emotions and memories of her failure to battle. Being reminded of it undid everything she tried to do to forget it.

"Aww, what's wrong Kagome? Did I make you sad? Here, maybe this will cheer you up." With an evil grin on his face, Naraku changed his shape yet again, into the form of Shippo. Kagome couldn't take this. She knew it wasn't really Shippo, she knew that it was just Naraku playing a trick on her, but her guilt of letting him down and her natural affections for the small kitsune stopped any and all thoughts of attacking.

Unfortunately for her, Naraku had no such correlations. While Kagome was trying to stop from tearing up as she relived Shippo's assimilation in her mind, Naraku formed a tentacle out of his arm. It would have been funny to see Shippo with at tentacle that was as thick as his body, but this wasn't a humorous situation. Naraku swung the tentacle at Kagome, hitting her hard in the side of the head, and sent her flying. After crashing through several buildings, Kagome landed in the clearing that was currently occupied by Miroku's and Sango's battle.

Kagome weakly tried to pick herself up, but fell on her hands and knees as she coughed up blood. Several ribs in her chest were broken and she could tell that she was bleeding internally. And as Kagome was gargling up blood from her lungs as she coughed, Naraku in Shippo's skin walked calmly towards her. Not a scratch was on his body and he looked perfectly refreshed; he didn't show any signs of having fought at all! How could he be that powerful? She had been going all out on him, and neither had shown any signs of being superior to the other. They had both fought for the same amount of time and they both had landed the same number of hits. And even a few seconds ago she had seen him tired, panting, and injured. Yet now it was all gone; how was he doing that!

Then Kagome saw it. The Shikon no Tama, nearly completed, sitting in his forehead like a jewel. That hadn't been there before so he must had started drawing power from it only recently. And if Naraku had been an even match for Kagome _before_ using the Shikon no Tama, now she didn't stand a chance. Desperate for some way to escape, Kagome started looking around frantically. Miroku was currently holding off some villagers, no doubt controlled by Kagura and Kanna. Sango was talking to her brother with tears in her eyes as she defended against his onslaught; probably trying to reach what was left of his shattered memory and humanity, his soul.

Kagome was about to call a retreat, it's not going to help anyone if they're all dead, when a sudden pulse of energy made everyone freeze in their tracks, even Naraku. The energy was strong and tainted, like a powerful curse. Kagome's instincts were screaming at her to flee, but she couldn't move her feet. That energy felt familiar. When Kagome heard a whispered _'no!'_, she knew exactly what it was. The 'no' was laced with unfathomable fear, fear so thick she could actually taste it. A fear that is beyond panicking, because you know that it will do you no good, that it is all over. The pulse beat of energy came again, stronger this time. Kagome looked where everyone (that had a soul) was looking: Miroku. His hand was outstretched in front of his face and he had a look of horror on it. His lips moved and no words came out, but everyone knew what he was saying: "No, not now! This can't be happening now!" Another pulse beat came from his kazaana through thick, screaming silence, and a single, audible, dreadful, noise was heard from Miroku's prayer beads.

CRACK!

**A/N:** Aren't I evil? Next is the last chapter, and it's a doozy. Yes, I know that there are still a lot of unanswered questions, but you will find out the answers to all those questions in the next two chapters (yes, two: chapter 8 and the epilogue). And just so that nothing is given away, I won't be posting a preview (seriously, if that ending isn't enough incentive to make you review, no preview will either). Hope you all have enjoyed reading the story as much as I have enjoyed writing and posting it. I'm gonna miss you guys.

**Kyoumi:** I'm glad you like my story. And just out of curiosity, how do you know he's dead? (I'm not saying that he is or isn't. Just specifying that I never actually said for sure)

**Frozen Miko:** Lol! That rambling thing was great (yes, I'm easily amused). And yes, reviving Inuyasha was a dream. Still thrilled that you like the story so much.

**Nimue2416:** To each their own. I'm glad you read it, even if you don't agree with it. But I think you'll like the ending (trust me when I say that everything that was ooc will be rectified)

**Bambigirl:** Heh heh heh. I'm evil like that. And I'm glad to hear that the dear population is liking my story as much as the humans.

**inuyasha-backlashwave** Again, how do you know he's even really dead? And congratulations! You've stuck with my story from the near-beginning (that makes me really happy). I hope you like the ending crosses fingers

**SlummyRedDragon** Thanks! (Oh, and BTW, I was waiting for your review to update. Aren't you special?)


	9. Chaos That Releases the Mind

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Kazaana: air void or wind tunnel

Saimyoushou: The poisonous insects Naraku uses

Kami: Japanese god, deity, or a spirit of nature

Taijiya: Demon slayer

Inu-no-nii-chan: Dog eared brother (Sota's name for Inuyasha)

Shikon no Tama: Jewel of four souls

**Chapter 8: Chaos That Releases the Mind**

CRACK!

The sound of glass prayer beads cracking filled the tense air. Kagome could hear Miroku's heart beating faster and faster and smell the fear dripping off of him, as well as everyone else, even Naraku. _He probably didn't plan for _this_ to happen._

CRACK! CRACK CRACK!

"EVERYONE GET AWAY FROM ME!" Miroku cried in horror. Images of his father being sucked up into his kazaana and the crater it left behind filled his head. He couldn't let his friends get caught in that.

Hearing his voice snapped everyone out of their trance, but it was too late. Right as they turned to run a final crack was heard from the prayer beads followed by the sound of them shattering. A huge gust of wind started blowing everything towards the wind tunnel. Everyone grabbed the ground as everything that wasn't anchored down was sucked into the kazaana like a tornado. Rocks, debris, villagers, everything swirled around Miroku's now up-cast hand before entering the void.

Kagura, in an attempt to counteract the affects of the curse, summoned up her own winds to blow in the opposite direction. However, the only thing _that_ accomplished was to knock the villagers out of harms way before the kazaana took over her winds and added them to its strength. The winds doubled in velocity, and a stray tree branch flew into the now standing Kagura, knocking her into the winds and sucking her into the haywire kazaana.

The winds were screeching and howling in Kagome's ears as she crawled away from Miroku and his kazaana. Sango, however, wasn't so lucky as to be the furthest from the epicenter of the whirlwind. In fact she and her brother were the closest, followed by Kanna and Naraku. Kanna and Kohaku were merely hugging the ground for dear life, seeing as Naraku had yet to give them any commands to escape.

Another flying plank of wood caused Kagome to duck her head momentarily before she continued her slow crawl against the winds and away from danger. When she looked again she could see that Kanna had lost her grip and was going into the void, along with her mirror which currently held the souls of all the villagers!

Miroku let out a bloody cry that was heard over the screech of the winds as both his kazaana increased its size to that of his hand and the saimyoushou that had been in the air entered his body. Kagome didn't have to look to know that Miroku's face was contorted with pain as his very being was starting to enter the curse.

'_DANGER!'_

Kagome looked over her shoulder to see that Naraku, now back in the form of Inuyasha due to the use of his claws, was forming a tentacle from his back.

_He's gonna try to knock me into the kazaana!_

As Naraku brought back the tentacle like a whip, preparing to knock back Kagome, she was desperately trying to think of a way to avoid the attack. Crawling on the ground was too slow, especially because of the winds, and rolling and leaping out of the way were no good for the same reason. Naraku brought down the tentacle hard and fast, but it didn't have the desired effect…or even direction. Naraku's tentacle was trapped by the kazaana!

Eyes wide in fear, Naraku looked to see Miroku pointing the curse directly at him, thus centering all the wind's destructive power right on Naraku. Miroku had a pained smirk on his face as he watched Naraku, claws digging into the ground, slide towards the curse that _he_ had created. Debris was flying everywhere within 30 feet of the kazaana, hitting the ground closest to it thus digging up dirt and forming a crater. And Naraku, try as he might, couldn't help being pulled into that area of flying death; he knew that as soon as he reached that event horizon he would be knocked off the ground and into the kazaana, just like Kagura and Kanna. 10 feet away from the debris, he was starting to sweat. 9 feet, Kagome could smell the fear radiating from him. 8 feet, the kazaana pulsed again and tripled in power. Naraku was instantly wrenched from the ground without the assistance of the debris and yelled as he spiraled into the curse, along with all his shards of the Shikon no Tama.

Miroku cried louder than before as the kazaana completely devoured his hand and started slowly making its way down his arm, growing bigger as it climbed. It seemed that the more it sucked in the larger it got; the edge of it was starting to hang off Miroku's body. Once again he lifted it into the air, but that did little good now. The winds were so intense that the ground around his feet was crumbling and disappearing into the chaos.

As the crater grew bigger, Sango, who had been making her way to Kohaku in an attempt to save him, started to slide down its slopes along with her brother. Closer to the epicenter and without a good grip on the ground, Kohaku was lifted off the ground and started the spiral to his grave after his master. Sango cried out in despair as she watched her only living relative get sucked into the kazaana.

Right as he was disappearing into the void, Kohaku swung his sickle and chain and released it towards Sango. Sango, in a mixture of confusion, disbelief, and lack of mobility, was unable to avoid the attack and it lodged into her back. Screaming in pain, Sango half rolled and was half drug down the slope of the now 20 foot and growing crater where she landed at Miroku's feet. The winds weren't as strong there, due to an "eye of the storm" affect.

"Sango! You have to get away form here! I can't lose you into the kazaana! I love you too much to let you die!" Miroku yelled over the winds. There were tears in his eyes, both from sadness and pain. The curse was picking up the speed it devoured him and was already the size his chest and had completely taken over his arm.

"Miroku!" Sango gasped as she coughed up blood. The sickle had punctured her lung and she was drowning in her own blood. "I won't leave you! I love you too." Sango grabbed hold of Miroku's waist in a hug as the pair of them disappeared into the kazaana. Before it closed up on itself at the bottom of an 80 foot crater.

Kagome was at the very edge of the crater when it closed, and she now slid to the bottom. She was shaking on her hands and knees, tears dripping from her eyes. She had failed them. She had failed everyone. A flood of despair and sadness washed over her as her emotional dam broke. They were gone: Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kirara, the Shikon no Tama, the souls of the villagers, her friends, her family, Inuyasha; she failed to protect them all.

Now she really had nowhere to go. She had no quest to complete because the jewel shards were lost in the kazaana, she had no friends to turn to because they were all dead, she had no family to return she had disappointed them, she had no love to run to because she hadn't listened to him.

Suddenly crying wasn't adequate enough to express her sorrow so Kagome, eyes shut and tears streaming down her cheeks, yelled as loud as she could.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

'_NOOOOOOOOOOO!'_

_NOOOOOOOOOOO!_

As she yelled she continued to cry and beat the dirt with her fist. She had failed them all! She wanted it all to end! She wanted the nightmare to be over. As she yelled, and as she cried, and as she beat the earth with her fists, the pain in her neck grew stronger and stronger, until she noticed in the very back of her mind, that she wasn't beating the ground anymore, she was beating cement.

Confused, in spite of her pain, Kagome opened her eyes to see that she was in the middle of her family's shrine! How in the world did she get there? As she looked around, she noticed that she wasn't alone. She saw Miroku! And Sango! And Shippo, Kirara, Jii-chan, her mother, Sota, Hojo, Yuka, Eri, Ayumi, Kikyo, Kaede, Kohaku, Naraku, Kagura, Kanna, Kouga, they were all surrounding her! How in Kami's name did they get here? Plus, as she inspected them further, she noticed that they were transparent, almost like ghosts or a specter, but not quite. They seemed more solid and they smelt sterile, like a hospital.

"Uh," Kagome stood up; she wasn't sure how to react to this. "hi? What're you guys doing here? What's going on?" Suddenly she was afraid. She looked at each of their faces and each of them held a glare; they looked furious.

"You failed us. That's why!" Miroku shouted. Why was this happening? Water started gathering in Kagome's eyes again.

"You are a disgrace! You let down my entire people!" Shouted Sango.

"Now all the taijiya are dead, because _you_ failed to protect me and my sister!" Kohaku shouted.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

"Save it wench! You don't deserve to be listened to! You lead me to believe you loved me and then crushed my heart!" Kouga shouted

"You let Naraku eat me and Kirara!" Even Shippo was furious at her"

"You turned the villagers against me after everything I did for you!" shouted Kaede

"You betrayed you family"

"you let Inu-no-nii-chan die!" the accusations were coming faster; each one like a dagger to Kagome's heart. She tired to talk but they wouldn't let her.

"You soiled my pure soul!"

"You lied to all of us!"

"You killed an entire village by not getting rid of my mirror!"

"You let everyone down!"

"You made the Shikon no Tama useless and forever condemned Midoriko to pain and suffering in an endless battle!" Even Naraku was mad at her.

"Please let me explain myself!" Kagome cried. She was on her knees and tears were running from her eyes. The look on her cut up, bruised face was one of utmost anguish. She couldn't believe that this was happening.

"NEVER!" they all shouted in unison. And as Kagome started to cry harder, they started to circle around her, faster and faster, shouting at her, spiting on her, yelling at her.

"HALF-BREED!"

"TRAITOR!"

"DEMON!"

"FAILURE!"

"WENCH!"

"I HATE YOU!"

"I WISH YOU WOULD DIE!"

"ROT IN HELL!"

"YOU FAILED US ALL!"

"YOU FAILED US!"

"YOU FAILED ME!"

"YOU FAILED YOURSELF!"

"YOU FAILED HIM!"

"YOU FAILED INUYASHA!"

Their shouts came louder and faster each time, until they all blended together into a high-pitched shriek. Their bodies moved with their voices until they were a storm, like a tornado, circling her; trapping her in her failure and suffering.

Kagome closed her eyes and covered her head with her hands. She just wanted this to end. The howling got louder as the storm of her guilt circled her; threatening to engulf her and make her lost to the world forever. And she was more that willing to let it. This storm would be her escape; it would end it for her.

"Kagome!" a voice called out for her, but it wasn't angry; it was anxious and desperate.

"Inuyasha, is that you?" The howling and shrieking got louder and Kagome's tears were flying into the tornado that was around her.

"Kagome you have to fight it! You have to hold on! I don't want to lose you!"

"But Inuyasha, I'm scared! I can't fight anymore; I have nothing left to give!" Kagome shouted over the storm, her voice filled with despair.

"You can! Come on Kagome, you're the strongest human I've ever met! Don't let this get you! You can beat it!" The cyclone was getting stronger as its walls started closing in on her. The pain in her neck was incredible and she could hear the pulsing of the storm."

"How Inuyasha? How can I beat this? What do I have to do?"

"Just wake up Kagome, please, just wake up!" Inuyasha's voice was shaky and small, like he was crying.

"Inuyasha I don't understand what you mean!" Kagome could feel the wall of wind tearing at her, closing in on her, trying to crush her.

"I don't know if you can hear me Kagome, but if you can I'm begging you to hold on for me. I can't live without you; no one has cared about me like you have since my mother died. I don't want to lose you too. I wasn't strong enough to save her and I swore I would never be that weak again. Please, I begging you, don't make me break my promise." The shrieking was getting quieter and quieter, and it felt like some evil was being pulled from her body.

"Just wake up Kagome, please just wake up." Kagome could feel rain landing on her cheek, but for some reason it smelled…salty. The pulsing of the storm was getting more and more frequent and was rising in pitch. His soft voice was filled with sadness, almost a whisper.

"Please," she heard a sniffle, like someone who is crying and talking at the same time. "please just wake up." More rain fell on her cheeks and Kagome suddenly became aware of something warm in her hand and the pulsing was now more of a beeping.

Suddenly Kagome realized that she could hear someone crying and that something bright was over her. Kagome slowly opened her heavy eyelids to find…herself in a hospital bed, Inuyasha crying over her.

"I-Inu-yasha?"

**A/N:** Dun dun DUUUU! dramatic music And there it is; the big secret behind the story. It's also the reason why everyone was ooc (told you there's a good explanation). And don't worry: there's still an epilogue that explains what was going on. But you have to read it carefully and think about it (yes, I'm making you think). Hope you all enjoyed it, and don't forget to review.

**kikyo618543:** Yes I am! In the words of Elvis Presley: "Thanku very moch."

**Frozen Miko:** …yes? The only thing I can really think to say about that is…wow…just, wow. Well, it looks like the Frozen Miko finally hit the microwave. Let us all pay respect, for the departure of her dead frozen corpse.

In Memoriam

-Frozen Miko-

**SlummyRedDragon:** You know be too well evil grin. And you of all people should know that I'm not one to "water it down" so to speak. But, what's done is done. Tell me, are you surprised?

**FanstasyFreak:** hums theme for The Twilight Zone

**Kyoumi:** Yeah, I was wondering when people would start guessing that. I tried to hide it as best as I could (and apparently I did a good job at it), but now the cat's out of the bag. Hope you like the ending.

**inuyasha-backlashwave:** Are you surprised? And is it still a good story even _with_ this twist? I sure hope it is. And I'm glad you enjoy my writing so much (it makes me feel all warm and tingly inside).

Also as a general note, I've been working on a new fic recently. It's not posted yet and it's Teen Titans. In about a week or so, I'm going to post it, but it won't be finished. I'm testing out how posting a fic as I'm writing it works, so updates wouldn't be quite as frequent as this one, but I would still finish it, and I would expect a new chapter up every week or two. So if that sounds like something you all might like to read, it will be titled "Out From the Shadow of Kronos" (and I explain the title early on, so don't worry if it's confusing) and posted sometime soon. Just incase anyone is interested.

Until next time,

Akuhonou Ryuu


	10. The Reality of the Chaos

**Speaking Through Dreams**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha; that right belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. No profit is being made off of this story, so please don't sue me; I have no money.

**Japanese Words in this Chapter:**

Baka: Stupid/idiot

Sengoku Jidai: Feudal Era or Warring-states Era (time period that Inuyasha takes place)

Miko: Shinto (Japanese religion) priestess

Ookami: wolf/wolf demon

Youkai: Demon

Shikon no Tama: Jewel of four souls

**Name Meanings: **

Inuyasha: dog-demon

Kikyou: Chinese Bell-flower

Shippou: Tail

Miroku: The Laughing Buddha

Sango: coral

Kirara: mica

Kohaku: Amber  
Kaede: Maple  
Myoga: Invisible Divine Help

Sesshoumaru: Destruction of the Circle of Life

Rin: Park/Valiant/Companion/Counter for Wheels and Flowers (I don't get this one either) /Phosphorous

Jaken: Evil Sight/Cruelty  
Midoriko: Green Child  
Naraku: Hell  
Onigumo: Demon Spider  
Kanna: Canna Lily

Kagura: Is the name of ancient Shinto music and dancing  
Kageromaru: Shadow Man  
Juromaru: Beast Man  
Goshinki: Mind-Reading Demon  
Kaijinbo: Ash-Blade Child  
Toutousai: Sword Ceremony Preparer  
Kouga: Steel Fang  
Ayame: Iris   
Souta: Dashing  
Houjo: Assistance/Support/Aid  
Akitoki: Fall of Time  
Yuka: Floor  
Eri: Brave/Clever/Neckband/Neck/Collar  
Ayumi: Walking  
Hiten: Fly Heaven  
Manten: Full Heaven  
Souten: Point at Issue  
Nazuna: Shepherd's Purse  
Koaru: Little Spring  
Sara: Assistant  
Mushin: Dream Mind  
Jinenji: Earth Boy  
Urasue: Black Pottery  
Tsubaki: Camillia  
Kuromiko: Black Miko

**Epilogue: The Reality of the Chaos**

"I-Inu-yasha?"

Kagome's voice felt like it hadn't been used in over a month. She was lying in a hospital bed, with Inuyasha next to her, holding her hand and crying on her shoulder. A soon as she spoke he looked up. He was terrible; his hair was a mess, his eyes were red from crying and probably lack of sleep, he had tears all over his face and in his eyes, and he looked pale and starved with dried blood covering his body.

At first he only blinked at her, like she wasn't who he thought she was. But then he sniffed and wiped his eyes quickly and proceeded to try and look angry.

"Kagome you baka!" he yelled "What were you trying to do, give me a heart attack! How could you scare me like that?" Although he was trying to sound angry, Kagome could tell that he was relieved about something.

"Inuyasha, where am I? What's going on?" Kagome looked around the room. There was hospital equipment everywhere including three of four IVs hooked up to her, a heart monitor, and a few other things that she didn't recognize. The room was almost all white and looked very clean; standard hospital room. There were several chairs around her bed as well as a table next to her that had flowers and "get well soon" cards strewn about it, as well as some prayer beads and what looked like all the shards of the Shikon no Tama.

Just then, Miroku came running into the room to see what all the yelling was about. And when he saw Kagome his eyes were filled with disbelief and joy.

"EVERYONE, COME QUICK! KAGOME'S ALIVE AND AWAKE!" What was he talking about? Of course she was alive. Several people came rushing into the room, including her family, her friends from the Sengoku Judia, and several doctors, all of whom had similar reactions to Miroku's.

"Will somebody please tell me what's going on? Where am I?" Then a realization hit her: in the height of her confusion she had forgotten one important detail that made her want to cry. "And why are you guys alive?"

"Kagome," Sango said softly, "you've been in a comma for over a month."

Flashback

Naraku formed a tentacle out of his arm and shot it towards Kagome. Paralyzed by fear, Kagome could only watch as the scene unfolded before her. As the tentacle/arm speed towards her, Inuyasha jumped in front of it in an attempt to stop it and save Kagome. He was almost successful too, but at the last second the tentacle split in two. One pierced Inuyasha through the chest, went straight through it and looped his neck to choke him while the other one dodged Inuyasha and went straight into Kagome's neck. With a smirk, Naraku pumped miasma through his arm and out the tentacle ends. Miroku and Sango (and Shippo from Kirara's back) watched in horror as Inuyasha got a face full of miasma while Kagome, with a tentacle sticking into her neck like a syringe, was no doubt being injected by the noxious vapor. They tried to move to help their dying friends, but found that they were paralyzed with fear over the gruesome scene. Shippo had covered his eyes when the tentacle rushed at Kagome and now took a peak to see if she was all right. From where he was he could see Miroku and Sango standing stone-still with expressions of horror on their faces. In front of them was Naraku with a spreading hole in his chest and his right arm extended as a tentacle that split in two. The right split was sticking through Inuyasha's chest and around his neck, simultaneously choking him and covering him in an ever growing cloud of miasma. The left half of the tentacle had Kagome on the end of it, with obvious pain showing on her face. When Kagome's eyes started to go blank and close, Shippo fainted.

The hole in Naraku's chest was growing faster and faster, spreading to his feet, arms and neck. Then, after a few seconds of pumping his miasma, Naraku gave his last defiant smirk and smashed his portion of the jewel (which was most of it), scattering them all over again as one final "screw you" before the hole completely devoured his entire body and he was gone.

Kirara landed with Shippo on her back as Sango and Miroku rushed over to Inuyasha as he coughed and gasped for breath.

"Inuyasha, are you all right?" Miroku asked worriedly.

"Yeah," Inuyasha gasped, "that baka had his tentacle choking me so I didn't inhale any of the miasma. How's Kagome?" The three of them looked over to see Kagome lying on the ground, convulsing.

"KAGOME!" the three yelled in unison. As they rushed over to her, her body emitted a pink light and her convulsions stopped, but she still didn't wake up.

"Kagome! Kagome are you ok? Please wake up!" Inuyasha yelled leaning over her. He didn't like this one bit. He could smell blood mixed with miasma spilling in troves inside of her and she was starting to get the stench of death.

"Inuyasha, what's wrong with Kagome?" Miroku asked as he and Sango ran towards him.

"It smells like he injected her with miasma. Quick Sango! Get Kirara!" Inuyasha ordered.

"Right! Hold on Kagome-chan."

"Come on Kagome, hang in there!" Inuyasha grabbed her hand with his. "I swear if you die on me I'll never forgive you!" He shouted as he squeezed her hands.

"Inuyasha, be careful! Your claws are digging into Kagome-sama's hands!" Miroku told him. Inuyasha looked down at her hands to see them bleeding and immediately let them go in horror.

"You must calm down, Inuyasha. You worrying is not going to save Kagome-sama. The only chance for her to survive is if we can get her to Kaede-sama's in time." Miroku tried to comfort Inuyasha. As Miroku was saying this, Kirara flew down with Sango and Shippo on her back.

"Hurry Houshi-sama, we need to get her on Kirara!" Sango said anxiously. But before either of them could move, Inuyasha had picked Kagome up, put her on his back, and sprinted off in the direction of Kaede's village faster that any of them had ever seen Inuyasha travel.

Inuyasha ran all night and all day without stopping once for anything. When he arrived at the village well past midnight the next day, he shouted at Kaede, who had run out of her hut to see what all the commotion was this late at night, to "get all your medication and anything that can help or heal wounds ready" and added particularly sharply that "There's no time to explain". Kaede glanced at Kagome before quickly preparing everything that would help a variety of wounds and pain-killers.

By the time the others arrived Kaede had everything that could be prepared on such vague symptoms, and was laying Kagome on a futon. She had a terrible fever and was sweating horribly; her hair was matted to her head as thick beads of sweat gathered on her face, and her clothes were soaked.

"She looks horrible." Sango said with a small, worried voice. She walked over to a basin full of cold water that Kaede had, dipped her scarf in it, and proceeded to place it on Kagome's head. "There, that should at least help the fever a little, shouldn't it Kaede-sama?" Sango asked, sounding hopeful.

"I hope so Sango, but she will still need medicine or she is likely to die. What happened to her?"

"You mean you don't know?" Miroku asked shocked, "Why hasn't Inuyasha told you?"

"He has just been sitting there with Kagome since he arrived, demanding that I heal Kagome. He hasn't said a word since; just sat their, staring at her holding her hand." Inuyasha had in fact been doing just that. He hardly noticed anything around him; all he could do was worry for Kagome and wonder what he could have done differently.

"We were attacked by Naraku." Sango started, slowly and painfully. "It was a long, hard battle; we all suffered wounds from it, both physical and emotional. Eventually Naraku started trying, and unfortunately successfully, to break are hearts by reminding each of us how he…he had hurt us." Sango grimaced at the memory of Naraku standing there, that smug smirk on his face and that cold voice…oh how she was glad it was over. "Eventually his words made Kagome-chan so mad that she shot an arrow with so much miko energy at him, that it purified him almost instantly. Unfortunately as a dying move, he attacked Kagome" Sango's voice started to get higher and sadder in an unusual display of emotion as tears welled up in her eyes "…Inuyasha…Inuyasha tried to stop him, but­—but…he got hit to and then the attack went around him and it—it…"

"He punctured Kagome's neck and pumped miasma into her body." Miroku solemnly answered for Sango, who had started to cry bitterly. "And to make it worse he broke what he had of the jewel, so that now most of the shares are re-scattered."

Kaede was silent for a few moments as she digested this enormous amount of information. Miroku was kneeling on the ground next to Sango as he comforted her on his shoulder, trying his very best to control his hand, as this was not the time for that. Shippo was still unconscious from his faint and was on Kirara's back, who had yet to de-transform. And Inuyasha was still sitting there, staring at Kagome with a vacant, sorrowful look that showed he was thinking deeply of her as he held her hand.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha's cry startled everyone, and they immediately froze in panic over what had caused Inuyasha to scream in the first place. Kagome was beginning to shake violently on the ground and gasp for the breath she wasn't receiving, almost like she was having a seizure. Shippo woke up at the sound of Inuyasha and stated crying loudly at what he saw, Miroku and Sango were frozen with panic, and Inuyasha was grabbing her shoulders and forcing them down, trying to make her stop.

"She's having a reaction to the miasma!" Kaede yelled. "Sango hand me the bowl nearest you! Houshi-dono, start making all the antidotes you know for a spider and snake youkai poisoning and mix them together! Kirara take Shippo outside and keep him quiet! And Inuyasha stop holding her down; you'll only injure her further." Kaede commanded. She was experienced with situations like this, though never this severe, and knew exactly how to handle them. Each person did what they were told and Kaede was able to feed Kagome a mixture of antidotes and pain killers which, to everyone's great relief, served to stop Kagome's spasms.

"What the hell was _that_?" Inuyasha demanded, talking for the first time since he initially brought Kagome in.

"The miasma that Naraku injected into Kagome's body was attacking her. It is normal for the body to react like that to deadly poisons, though usually the person is dead afterwards. Kagome is very lucky to have survived it." Kaede said. "But don't worry, the medicine I gave her should keep that from happening again; it's just a matter of how long it takes, if ever, for Kagome's body to heal itself."

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo looked relieved to hear this, but Inuyasha didn't. He simply got the same distant look on his face that he had before and stared at Kagome. Eventually the others fell asleep from exhaust and the lateness of the night, but Inuyasha refused to. All night he kept watch over Kagome, occasionally talking to her even though he knew it was pointless.

The next day Kagome's fever got worse, but at least she showed no knew symptoms. They spent the day worrying about and treating Kagome. Shippo helped Kaede and Miroku pick herbs for Kagome's medicine while Sango changed Kagome's sheets, bandages, and cloths with cool ones, and Inuyasha stayed in the same position, never leaving her and not even acknowledging anyone else's existence. All he did was sit with her and talk to her; Kagome said that miasma attacks your mind and tears it apart, so maybe if she heard a familiar voice, it would give her something to hold on to and help keep her mind together.

That evening Kagome started to convulse and have spasms again, only this time they were stronger that before. Kaede gave the same instructions out as she had the previous night, except this time she was prepared for it. And as she hastily prepared what she hopped would cure Kagome, Inuyasha continued to talk to her.

"KAGOME! KAGOME CAN YOU HEAR ME? KAGOME, I WON'T LEAVE YOU. IF YOU CAN HERE ME PLEASE ANSWER. IF NOT, I'LL JUST KEEP YELLING AT YOU!"

"Inuyasha shut up! Listen to me!" Miroku yelled as he attempted to grab hold of Inuyasha's shoulders and force Inuyasha to look at him. "Yelling at Kagome isn't going to help her, and it isn't going to help Kaede get an antidote ready. You must calm down. We all want Kagome to get better and we're all doing our best. You need to do that too; you need to help her, not yell at her." Miroku released Inuyasha who looked defeated and lost. Miroku went back to his hurried task and Inuyasha just sat there, muttering to Kagome.

"Wake up; I love you Kagome. Please, wake up. You need to wake up."

The convulsions continued for several minutes with Kagome's chest flying up in the air and horrible gargling sounds coming from inside her. Kaede finished a suitable antidote was finally able to administer it to Kagome, who was blue in the face and had blood was streaming down the sides of her mouth, like she had been coughing up blood. Kagome's spasms slowed to a halt and everyone held their breath in anticipation over what would happen next. The silence in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It was almost _too_ quite. Wait a minute, where was the sound of Kagome breathing?

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted when he realized what was going on. "Kaede-babaa what'd you do to Kagome!"

"The antidote took too long to prepare, the miasma must have attacked more of her body than it could handle." Kaede said regretfully and panicky.

"Come on Kagome, you gotta wake up!"

"I can't figure out what's wrong with her." Said Miroku who had been desperately trying to think of some way to revive her.

"She's not gonna to die, is she?" Sobbed Shippo, tears running down his eyes.

"Of course not runt! Come on Kagome, wake up. Kagome, wake up, please wake up!" Inuyasha was getting more and more frantic as everyone else was panicking "Kagome wake up! KAGOME!"

Kagome took a sharp intake of breath and continued to breathe uneasily. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as Kagome revived herself. Later that day, Kouga came busting in the village, wondering where his Kagome was.

"YOU LET HER WHAT!" Kouga shouted at Inuyasha as Miroku explained what had happened. "I knew it, dog-turd, you're not capable of protecting the people around you! I guess it's up to me to protect my Kagome! I'm taking her to my de—" Kouga was cut of from his arrogant rampage by Inuyasha grabbing him by the throat. It happened so fast no one, not even Kouga, saw him move. On moment Kouga was raving, the next he was pinned to the wall of the hut by his neck with Inuyasha on the other end.

"Let's get a few things straight, ookami. First of all, she is not yours, she never wanted to be yours, she told me herself, and she never will be yours because she belongs with me; not as a piece of property like you treat her, but as a person." Kouga seemed taken aback by this and tried to argue but Inuyasha pressed on. "Second of all, don't you _dare_ think that I didn't protect Kagome that night." His voice sounded like he was crying but no tears were shed; Inuyasha never cries. "I protected her as much as possible. That attack was aimed at her heart and had it hit, she wouldn't even be feigning death right now. And third," His grip around Kouga's neck grew tighter and as he drew his face closer so that they were practically touching. "Don't, you, ever, talk, about, my, ability, to, protect, my, friends, again…EVER!" With that, Inuyasha dropped Kouga and went back to watching over Kagome.

Rubbing his neck as he got up, Kouga, ego deflated, asked Kaede if at least there was at least something he could do to help Kagome.

"Actually, yes. I believe I know of a medicine that can Kagome's fits and save her from the miasma, but I require a flower that only grows in the northern mountains."

"Say no more!" And Kouga was off; he already knew the flower that Kaede was talking about, since its healing properties were the reason his den was where it was. While they waited for Kouga to return, the others had nothing to do but sit and talk. Inuyasha didn't include himself seeing as he was still talking to Kagome, trying and hoping to reach her while Kaede was getting everything ready for the medication and Kouga's return.

A few hours later he arrived with a flower that looked like a Sakura blossom, only it was purple. With yellow outline on the pedals.

"Ah, very good! This will do just fine." Said Kaede as she took the healing wonder. After grinding up the flower and adding it into the medicine, she brought it over to where Inuyasha and Kagome were. Inuyasha roughly snatched the cup, muttering a cross of "arigato" and "what took you so long", and pressed it up to her lips as he gently tilted her head back. Everyone watched anxiously as Inuyasha rubbed Kagome's throat in just the right spot to make her reflexively swallow the medicine. Immediately she started cooling down, end everybody gave a sigh of relief.

"Just for good measure, why don't I give here these too." Kouga made a small cut in his leg with his claws and removed his jewel shard, then did the same for the other one. "These should help keep her alive long enough for her body to heal itself." Said Kouga as he placed them in Kagome's hand. It was so weird seeing Inuyasha and Kouga get along like this. But then again, both of them had Kagome's life in mind, and the two had apparently and un-verbally agreed to put their differences aside for Kagome's mutual benefit. But if seeing the two of them getting along wasn't weird enough, three hours later (it's now around dusk) Inuyasha suddenly grew stiff, and Kikyo walked into the hut.

"Well, it seems like my reincarnation has gotten herself into quite a mess this time. Kaede, I trust you gave her the proper medicine?" Kikyo said as she stared at Kagome.

"Yes…yes I have." Kaede said, slightly taken aback by the idea that the image of her sister was standing there, talking like she would have if she were still alive.

"But Kikyo-sama," Miroku asked confused, "how did you know of the condition of Kagome?"

"Simple, she and I share the same soul, therefore when she is in trouble I can feel it and visa versa. I am also aware that Naraku was defeated in the battle, since his youki is no longer detectable. But what of the Shikon no Tama? Have you located Naraku's piece of it yet?" Asked Kikyo to Sango and Miroku; she seemed to be completely ignoring Inuyasha and the fact that the only acknowledgement he made of her presence was to go rigid and cease talking.

"No. When Naraku died he re-scattered his fragments of the Shikon no Tama." Sango said quietly.

"And why have you not stated looking for them?" Kikyo's monotone voice was laced with a dry and mocking surprise.

"Because of Kagome. Plus, how would we find them? She was the only one who was able to sense the presence of the shards." Answered Miroku.

"Not quite." Said Kikyo, a smirk forming on her face. "You forget that I have the same powers as Kagome, if not more."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…hold on a second!" Kouga interrupted. "Who the hell are you, and how are you related to Kagome?" Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Kouga had never met, or even heard of Kikyo before. After Miroku filled Kouga in on all the important matters dealing with Kikyo, from fifty-three years ago, to her involvement with Naraku, and everything else that was of importance (he didn't tell Kikyo about Kouga because she apparently already knew about him), Kouga fell into a sitting position, shocked that so much was going on with Kagome that he hadn't even known about. A few accusations of "and you said _I_ was two-timing Kagome with Ayame…" Kikyo decided to continue what she had been saying where she left off.

"Inuyasha." Kikyo turned to him, addressing him for the first time since her arrival. He didn't move, but his ears tweaked (indicating that he was listening) and a look of worry overtook his far-off look. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he was expecting Kikyo to collect on his promise to her right now, and drag him to hell with her. "I free you of your promise; you don't have to go to hell with me. I never even expected you to in the first place."

"Nani?" It was the first thing Inuyasha said since she came in and he tore his eyes off Kagome to look at her in disbelief and shock.

"During my wanderings I came across a temple. There I met a priest with spiritual powers even grater than my own. He knew what I was the minute he saw me, and yet he still invited me to stay at his temple and train with him. While I was there I learned to accept myself for who I am, not _what_ I am or who I _was_. I was happy, for the first time since that day, fifty-three years ago. Inuyasha, I know you love that girl, it's written all over you face. We may have loved each other in the past, but Naraku ruined that love; it's tainted now, false. Just the remnants of what once was. Inuyasha, you don't love me and you shouldn't love me; you are alive and I am not. I will not hold you to the promise I made you make out of hatred and bitterness. Also, as penance for my sins, I will assist your friends in recollecting the shards of the Shikon no Tama. After that is done and if Kagome is revived, I shall return the missing piece of her soul that I have."

Everyone was shocked to hear this little speech. But they were happy, both for Kikyo and Inuyasha, who couldn't believe what he heard. So for the rest of the month Kirara, Sango, Miroku, and Kikyo, accompanied by Kouga (who still couldn't believe that Inuyasha had been two-timing Kagome and then getting mad at _him_ whenever he showed up) searched for the shards of the Shikon no Tama, while Shippo and Inuyasha stayed behind to watch over Kagome and help Kaede. Over the month, Inuyasha grew more and more irritable. His lack of sleep and food made his control over his youkai blood wane, and his canine instincts start to surface . He started growling at people who entered the hut, and once he even bit a man for looking at Kagome. He was becoming possessive with her and would barely let Kaede near her to administer medication. He was starting to act like a wild dog.

And it didn't help his mood that, in spite of how well she was doing at the beginning of the month, Kagome was steadily getting worse. Her fever returned, accompanied by fits of chills and rashes, and occasional small spasms. In fact, by the end of the month, even through all the mediation and the help of Kouga's jewel shards, Kagome was worse than she was when she didn't have any of them helping her.

Miroku and the others arrived at the hut around this time because Kikyo had sensed Kagome's serious condition through their link. Kagome was dieing, and there was nothing in this world that could stop it from happening. The fact that she had survived the first hour of its intrusion in her body was a miracle. There simply was no cure.

"I thought this might be the case." Kikyo said sadly after placing her hand over Kagome to read some vital sign that only a miko could sense (spending a month with Kagome's friends made Kikyo feel close to her reincarnation as a friend. Sango's and Miroku's sadness had become her own). Inuyasha had to force himself to allow Kikyo close enough to do this. His instincts were showing like the cushions of a worn-out pillow; he wouldn't even let Miroku get close to her.

"The miasma that Naraku injected into Kagome's body was not merely miasma; it was also cursed. Usually miasma will kill a person within a few days at the most. Kagome had the help of medication, her miko powers, and the Shikon no Tama to keep her alive. This won't cure the miasma, but it _should_ have held it at bay and kept it from spreading. Unfortunately this did not happen, which means the miasma is regenerating itself and actively working to kill her, or at least tear her mind apart. The only way that it can be this aggressive is with the aid of a curse. Naturally, her mind is trying to fight it, but the combination of miasma attacking her physically and a curse attacking her mentally is enough to overpower anyone."

"But Kikyo, isn't there something we can do?" Wined Shippo. Tears were welling up in his eyes. First his mother, then his father, now Kagome? His poor little kitsune heart couldn't take it. If he lost Kagome…even _thinking_ about it made his heart feel like it was being crushed and forced into his stomach.

"Unfortunately, no. The only way Kagome could be saved is if we could cure the miasma, which would allow her mind to build up its strength and fight the miasma. But no such cure exists."

"Not yet it doesn't, but it will…" Inuyasha stated with quiet thoughtfulness. "Remember when Naraku attacked us? Remember what Kagome said? She said that the healers from her time have only cured a handful of people. But if a handful of people have been cured, that means that they _can_ cure it!" Inuyasha said with more joy in his voice then anyone had heard in a while. "I'm taking Kagome back to her time! That's her best chance for survival."

Inuyasha picked up Kagome bridal style and ran towards the well without waiting for anyone to say a word. Nothing mattered to him except Kagome getting better. "Don't worry Kagome; you'll get better soon. I promise...I won't fail you too."

Needless to say her family was pretty worried and upset when Inuyasha came crashing through the front door with an unconscious Kagome in his arms, demanding to know where their healers were. After quickly telling them that she had miasma poisoning (they told him that they had to know what was wrong with her first), her family called the hospital. Inuyasha didn't let go of Kagome during the five minute wait for the ambulance and had to force himself to let her family see and touch her. But when the paramedics arrived and tried to take her, Inuyasha growled viciously as his eyes flashed red. But luckily their attention was on Kagome and trying to get her away from him so they didn't notice. And before he attacked anyone, Kagome's mother was able to coax him into letting them take her and assured him that he would be able to see her at the hospital. Before she got in the ambulance with her daughter, Mrs. Higurashi quickly told Inuyasha what a car is and that it would take him to Kagome.

Before they took her away, the paramedics removed the jewel shards that were in Kagome's hand, which immediately triggered a seizure. Kagome's body had become so dependant on the Shikon shards, that without them the miasma was able to run free again in her body.

The seizure was horrible, worse that any the doctors had ever seen and they doubted if she would survive it. Kagome had blood coming out all over her body from her orifices and from cuts that were being created the inside by the miasma as it ate through her. By the time they reached the hospital, Kagome was already receiving a blood transfusion and the doctors immediately placed her in a code blue room. They worked hard and fast to save her, and after an hour they were able to subdue the miasma and stop her seizure.

"The girl appears to be stabilizing." Announced one of the nursed, relieved.

"That's good news. We almost lost her there." Agreed the doctor.

"Let me see Kagome!" Shouted Inuyasha as he beat his way past the security guards, shoved the doctors out of the way and knelt by her side. "Hey, Kagome! Here, I got these for you" Inuyasha gently opened Kagome's hands and gave her a pair of prayer beads, putting them in her hands. "They're Miroku's. He had them blessed to help fight the curse. Isn't that great! Pretty soon we will be together again. All you have to do is wake up!" As it turns out, after Inuyasha left with Kagome, Miroku high-tailed it after them. Since Naraku was dead, Miroku's kazaana had disappeared, and he no longer needed his prayer beads. And since they were blessed to fight Naraku's curses (i.e. his kazaana), he simply had Kikyo use her miko powers to adjust the blessing so that it would now fight the curse that Kagome had instead. Then, taking a jewel shard in hopes of it allowing him to travel through the well, Miroku gave chase. He ended up showing up right as Jii-chan was leaving with Inuyasha and Souta.

By this time Kagome's mother and Jii-chan had talked to the doctors and convinced them to let Inuyasha stay with Kagome. They also told them that their security couldn't stop him even if they tried. So for the next few hours, Kagome's family was properly introduced to Miroku, and they all sat with Inuyasha and explained what everything did.

"The bag on the pole is called an IV, and it's filled with medicine and blood that it puts directly into Kagome so she doesn't die. The big machine in front of the bed (what she is lying in) is called a respirator and it helps her breath. And that beeping thing is keeping track of her pulse. Every time it beeps her heart beeps too, so it tells us that she is alive."

"Fascinating!" Miroku said as he inspected every item in the room. He had never seen any of it and was amazed at what there was in the world; it was mind-boggling to see how much technology advanced in 500 years. Everything was different! Some things seemed good, like the apparent lack of youkai and the advancement of the medicine. And yet, everything was so big and impersonal, and where were all the trees and forests? It was fascinating and a bit scary all at the same time.

After the use of everything of the room had been described and explained, Miroku decided to retell what had happened to Kagome, since Inuyasha had gone back to his habit of not noticing anything but Kagome. Miroku retold the battle, what had happened afterwards, and after answering all their questions to the best of his ability, started telling Jii-chan about what the Sengoku Judia was like (who happened to ask him).

After a while, everyone but Inuyasha was preparing to leave for the evening, when all of a sudden Inuyasha and Miroku felt the prayer beads and Kagome pulse with energy. Then Kagome went into another seizure, this one worse than before.

"Quick get a healer!" Shouted Miroku. "The curse must be fighting the prayer beads." Miroku speculated as doctors rushed in to find Kagome shaking and twitching on the bed. She was soaked in blood and sweat and her skin looked like it had just had a good hour-long rub with broken glass. Blood came gargling out of her lungs and the heart monitor was going haywire. The doctors started pushing people out of the room as they filled the IV's with more blood, antibiotic and antitoxins, but they were fighting a loosing battle. With the curse fighting her mind, the miasma was going unchecked through her body, to deteriorate it from the inside out.

Inuyasha was growling furiously at so many males trying to separate him from his partner. "Get your hands offa my Kagome! Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha shouted as he aimed for the doctors, but Miroku stopped him, and together with Jii-chan and the hospitals security they were able to hold him back. Kagome only got worse as the seizures increased in severity and blood was starting to squirt out of the cuts the miasma was creating. Her body was hissing as it was eaten away by the miasma and the doctors were trying desperately to save her life. The heart monitor showed that her heart-rate was getting dangerously high, and if it continued she would have a heart attack too.

"We're loosing her!" One of the nurses shouted.

"Quick! Get some more antidotes and fill the IV! We need to counteract that miasma!" A doctor commanded. Everyone was tense.

"Let me see Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha. "Come on, Kagome, stay with me! I swear, if you die I'll never forgive you!"

"Someone get him out of here! Listen! You're in the way and you won't help her. There's nothing you can do!" shouted a doctor angrily. And much to everyone's surprise, instead of rebelling against what the doctor said, Inuyasha simply sunk to the floor with a watery far-off look in his eyes, like he was reliving some traumatic experience.

Eventually, after another pulse of energy from the prayer beads that only Inuyasha and Miroku could feel, Kagome stabilized, and the seizure stopped. The doctors cleaned her up, bandaged her, and as soon as they were done Inuyasha immediately went right back to her side. The whole ordeal had taken 8 hours and it was around 4 o'clock in the morning. Souta and Jii-chan had gone home and Kagome's mother was asleep in the waiting room with Miroku.

Nothing happened that day, and the following evening Jii-chan arrived with Sango, Shippo, and Kohaku to see Kagome. Sango briefly told Miroku and Inuyasha that she had beseeched Sesshomaru about using the Tensaiga on Kohaku, as payment to Kagome for defeating Naraku. He agreed (after some prompting from Rin) and Kohaku was revived, allowing them to take the final shard of the Shikon no Tama from his back.

Everyone then went in to see Kagome (Shippo was uncomfortably fitted into pants that hid his tail and was wearing shoes); since Miroku hadn't returned, they assumed that he was successful in traveling through the well, which meant that so could they. Kouga and Kikyo stayed back at the village to help protect it while the others were gone, and Kirara wasn't allowed inside the hospital, so she was left at the shrine with Buyo. When they were done visiting and the initial shock of actually being in Kagome's time seceded, they all had the same general reaction as Miroku; wanting to know what everything was, what it did, and how it worked.

When Sango set the Shikon no Tama on the table where the other two shards were being kept, everyone was pleasantly surprised to see Kagome turn a shade back to her normal color (she had been extremely pale from all the blood she was loosing). The next day Kagome was moved to the recovery room (the doctors weren't expecting any more attacks, since they had been able to stop her last seizure and they seemed to have cured the miasma) where her friends from school were waiting for her with flowers and cards (rumors of Kagome's illness spread very quickly through the school).

When the doctors walked in some time later, they announced the results of Kagome's tests to her family and friends. Luckily there had been no serious internal damage, and most of it had miraculously healed. However, much of the miasma had been centered on attacking her brain, and based on the results of the cat-scan they had taken, there was a tremendous amount of neurological done. They doubted she would ever wake up from her coma. But as soon as they talked about putting her out of her misery and just letting her die, Inuyasha promptly punched them in the faces so hard the fell over, and yelled at them to get out, to which they happily and hurriedly obliged.

The next day, Kagome died. The seizure wasn't messy or bloody like the previous ones, it was deadly and to the point. Apparently, while the doctors had been able to cure _most_ of the miasma, there was still some left that waged and all-out assault on her brain; most specifically her brain stem, which is what keeps a person alive (it controls breathing, heart beat, etc.), but also sparing the time to crush her conscious mind too. It was unheard of for anything to attack with such ferocity and persistence; the doctors had never seen anything more horrific. Even without the blood, the sight of Kagome's body twitching and convulsing so hard and showing so much agony was a painful sight. The doctors did everything they could, but nothing helped. Her breathing was gargled as her lungs closed up, and shortly after her heart stopped, along with her breathing and shaking. The doctors had done everything they could but it was all for naught.

As everyone filed solemnly out of the room, Inuyasha stayed behind, refusing to believe Kagome was dead.

"Kagome! Kagome you have to fight it! You have to hold on! I don't want to lose you! You can! Come on Kagome, you're the strongest human I've ever met! Don't let this get you! You can beat it!" The heart monitor let out a beep, but Inuyasha didn't notice. "Just wake up Kagome, please, just wake up!" Inuyasha's voice was shaky and small, like he was crying. But he refused to let the tears come. He never cries. "I don't know if you can hear me Kagome, but if you can I'm begging you to hold on for me. I can't live without you; no one has cared about me like you have since my mother died. I don't want to lose you too. I wasn't strong enough to save her and I swore I would never be that weak again. Please, I begging you, don't make me break my promise." Kagome's chest started rising and falling as the heart-monitor started beeping louder, but Inuyasha wasn't paying attention. He didn't even notice when Kagome glowed pink and something seemed to evaporate out of her; his eyes were closed as he grabbed onto her hand. "Just wake up Kagome, please just wake up." His soft voice was filled with sadness, almost a whisper. A tear left his eyes and landed on Kagome's cheek. The heart monitor started beating louder and more regular. "Please," he was crying now. "please just wake up." More tears left his eyes. He buried his face in her shoulder and cried, but was startled a few seconds later as he heard Kagome's voice.

"I-Inu-yasha?"

TWO WEEKS LATER

Kagome was finally finished with her physical therapy to rebuild her muscles, and she was going to be released from the hospital. (She always wondered why it was that none of the doctors said anything about Inuyasha's ears or Shippo's youkai traits). During the past weeks she had re-told her dream to the others, and thought heavily about what she would do with the Shikon no Tama. It was a heavy burden to bear and it required all of her concentration, but her mind always strayed back to her dream and what had happened in it. It had been Inuyasha that kept her going, both in her dream and in real life; if he hadn't been talking to her, her mind would've fallen apart and she wouldn't be alive right now. When she was dreaming, his voice in the real world kept her focused on him and trying to find a way to revive him, giving her the will to live and persevere, which translated to her mind's stamina in fighting off the curse and miasma. All these things kept going through her mind as she tried to figure out what it all meant in the whole scheme of things.

That evening her family and friends from the Sengoku Jidai held a celebration to commemorate her release from the hospital and the fact that her quest was now over (after all, Naraku was dead, the Shikon no Tama was complete, and she was alive and well). It was a great party, everyone having a good time, playing games, swapping stories of past adventures, explaining contraptions, talking about the way of life in the Sengoku Judia, eating ramen; everyone was having a good time. Inuyasha was kinder to Kagome now, and Kagome was more understanding of what his life was like, having, to all intents and purposes, lived as a hanyou for over a month. And she oddly missed it.

After a few hours of fun, Kagome decided to make an announcement she had been preparing in her head for the past two weeks.

"Everyone, I've decided what to do with the Shikon no Tama. I've been thinking a lot about the dream I had, and my adventures in the Sengoku Jidai. Something that I've noticed is that I've been growing apart from my friends at school. I still like them, but because of my quest, I've grown up while they're still kids; I can't relate to them any more. Similarly, in my dream my family was the only place I had to go to in this era, whereas in the Sengoku Judia I had many different villages and people to turn to and relate with. Also I've come to realize, many things about Inuyasha. Like how caring he is, even if it's hard for him to show it, and how he will do anything to keep me safe. And after being separated from him in my dream, I've realized that I love Inuyasha with all my heart and I want to spend the rest of my life with him." Kagome paused to let the murmurs of surprise, that came as people realized the implications of what was just said, die down before continuing. Inuyasha looked stiff as a board and was blushing and sweating profusely. "Now I know, after having spent three years with him, that Inuyasha is worried for my safety because I am a weak human and can be injured easily; proof of this being what just happened two months ago. And also, Inuyasha, I want you to know that you are not worthless (the expression on his face and personal experience told Kagome that Inuyasha didn't feel worthy of her love. And who could blame him, really, for feeling this way after having been told so for most of his life). I love you for _who_ you are, not _what_ you are; whether you're a hanyou, human, or youkai. You have always been worthy of me, and it's about time you realized it. That argument aside, and all these things considered, I have decided that I want to use the Shikon no Tama to become a hanyou, and live in the Sengoku Jidai as Inuyasha's mate, if he'll have me."

As Kagome expected, everyone was shocked beyond words by this decision, and Inuyasha was desperately trying to fight off tears as he looked at Kagome with unbelieving eyes. He couldn't believe that somebody actually love him. When the initial shock subsided, a flurry of questions flooded Kagome. Her family, of course, wanted to know if they'd ever see her again. But she assured them that she had the well, and even if that stopped working she could see them when she was 500 years older. After all, youkai and hanyous live a long time. Souta thought it was cool, Kagome's mother was excided that Kagome was finally getting married and made her promise that she would make her lots of grand children (to which Kagome and Inuyasha both blushed and looked away), and even Jii-chan was proud that she was going to take an active part in history. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara were, of course, elated that Kagome would be living with them permanently from now on (Kohaku was still slowly recovering from what Naraku did to him, so emotions were hard to come by with him).

Later on, Inuyasha pulled Kagome aside and asked her if this was what she really wanted, to live the rest of her life as an outcast and unloved, but she quickly reminded him that they would have the others, and that they would have each other. She already told him that she loved him, and he had proven many times that he loved her, even if it was hard for him to say so (and that was enough for her). Then, to make her point clear, she gave him a long, passionate kiss on the lips.

When the party was over and Kagome was packing, she wrote a note to Hojo, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, telling them that she was eloping with Inuyasha, and that they would be moving to Canada. (It was something that they could believe and would explain her absence from their lives). After that was done she packed everything she could think of that she would want to take with her, just in case the well closed up, including first-aid equipment, history text books, and enough ramen to last a life-time…or at least a month.

Inuyasha took everyone back through the well on his back, since they didn't have shards any more (Kagome had put them all back together into one jewel) and Inuyasha didn't need them to be able to use the well, while Kagome gave her last good byes to her family. Finally, holding on to her future husband's back, Kagome went through the sacred well, probably for the last time, where her new life, a new adventure, and the final step towards ridding the world of the Shikon no Tama awaited her.

And as she traveled through the time slip, she realized that she was actually thankful to Naraku. Because if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have fallen into a coma, and then Kagome and Inuyasha never would have realized their feelings for each other. And as the light of the time slip covered them, Kagome thought about all that she had to be thankful for: from the love of Inuyasha, to her life, and she would never forget that it was all thanks to Inuyasha, and his speaking through her dreams.

The End…

**A/N:** There it is. My first fanfic. stands back and admires it It's been a fun ride, full of interesting people, great reviews and reviewers, and some good laughs (on my end at least). I hope you all enjoyed my story and don't mind that it got a little mushy at the end there. I would like to thank all those who reviewed, and give out a **special thanks to SlummyRedDragon who was my first review, as well as Inuyasha-backslashwave and pua lahi lahi, who were there with me early on too! Thanks guys, you helped me a lot and reading your reviews was always a pleasure.** If anyone has any questions about my story (or just in general) that weren't answered in the epilogue, feel free to ask me in a review, and I'll happily reply to it (I'll post a Q and A page or something like that).

**FanstasyFreak**: Thanks for not ruining the surprise I really appreciate it.

**SlummyRedDragon**: Well, at least you enjoyed it, and that's the most important thing. And again, I can't thank you, my longest reviewer, enough for your support. It's people like you that make writing fanfics rewarding.

**Frozen Miko**: I'm going to miss your…interesting reviews (and it only takes me a minute to read your reviews, so don't worry about shortening my life span). I hope you liked the story, and I'm glad you found it, even if it was a little late (but that's ok! At least you made it)

**kawaiisess68**: Yes, I know. That's why I did that (I knew this chapter would be particularly nice, so I had to add in one last cruel and unusual form of torcher before I let you off the hook)

**inuyasha-backlashwave**: Yeah, I thought that was great too. That's why I did it. Anyways, I'm going to miss you; your support has been tremendous and I'm thankful for your faithfulness! I hope you enjoyed the story.

See ya space cowboy…

Akuhonou Ryuu- The DarkFlame Dragon


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